Be yourself is a terrible advice

AUTHENTICITY // NO THANKS

“Just be your true self.” According to the American writer Adam Grant, this is the worst advice many people can get. Giving free rein to your authentic self doesn’t benefit anyone, he found out during an experiment in which he expressed everything he thought for two weeks. He had to stop his experiment because it was unbearable for himself and his environment. The idea of an authentic self hinders personal growth because it implies that there exists such a thing as an authentic self. What works best? According to Grant: acting from the outside in by copying styles that you see around you and experimenting with which one works best.