When you become you. http://amzn.to/2iZOLK7
Book: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
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When you become you
Shunryu Suzuki writes a short phrase in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: when you become you. It sounds circular. How can we become what we already are? Yet many people feel distant from their true selves. They follow expectations, play roles and adopt opinions that do not quite fit.
Becoming yourself, in Suzuki’s sense, means dropping those layers. It is not about building a new identity. Instead, it is about removing what is false, so that natural qualities can appear. A sculptor once described carving as removing everything that is not the statue.
Steps to become more yourself
Self-observation is a good starting point. Notice when you feel tense, performative or fake. Then notice when you feel relaxed and natural. Therefore, patterns emerge showing where authenticity lives and where it hides.
Values provide guidance. When actions match values, people feel more like themselves. For example, someone who values honesty may feel uncomfortable in a job that requires constant spin. Recognising this gap is the first step to closing it.
Relationships matter too. Some people encourage us to be ourselves, while others pressure us to perform. Moreover, spending more time with the first group makes authenticity easier.
Suzuki links this with seeing clearly. When you are you, you see things as they are, without distortion.
In short, authenticity is a process of subtraction. Therefore, notice one role you play that no longer fits. For instance, stop pretending to enjoy something you dislike. As a result, you will have more energy for what genuinely matters to you.
Finally, be patient with the process. Becoming yourself rarely happens in a single decision. Instead, it unfolds through many small choices, each one a little more honest than the last.
