“It’s so important to be authentic, but it can be so hard to get there.
“It’s easy for our identities to become wrapped up. We grow up believing certain things about ourselves because of family, friends or past experiences – and then we walk around wearing someone else’s beliefs about us.
“It’s created a society full of people who don’t really accept who they are or love themselves well enough. People who are stuck, tired, exhausted, frustrated. All those things, combined, build up some resentment and the soul gravitates toward, ‘I just have to do this. I can’t practice what I believe, so I’m going to practice this unhealthy behavior because I’m just trying to make it through the day.’ That becomes their values system whether they mean for it to happen or not.
“When you’re that burnt out, you aren’t making choices. You’re letting life circumstances choose for you. And it leaves us feeling powerless, looking for something quick and easy to make ourselves feel worthy. So here comes social media. You’re constantly seeing what other people are doing – their lives look so great and you just want to feel better – so you start living for the affirmation of others. But that will always take you down the path to unfulfillment. Living for ‘likes’ is a hollow victory.
“Part of breaking out of that way of thinking is to accept that our identity – the truth of what we believe about ourselves – strongly impacts the decisions we make. We have to be vulnerable and honest with ourselves if we’re ever going to have a chance at a life well-lived. Every day we choose to either let our mistakes define us… or to follow the good in us.”
— Jonathan Trigg // Co-Founder @ The Integrated, Costa Mesa
