Authenticity without empathy is selfish

Authenticity has been a hot word for the past few years, and with good reason. Avoiding facades and sharing your true self is a great thing to do, and it’s generally a very positive way to go.

However, it can become selfish if you don’t pose your authenticity through the lens of empathy.

This kind of goes back to my “ Accept me as I am? “ post from earlier this year. We should certainly accept others as they are, but that doesn’t mean we should excuse bad behavior. If your “authentic” self is rude to staff and mocks the people around them, that’s not something we need to see. Authenticity isn’t an excuse to be a jerk.

It can be a tough balance for some, but putting a dash of empathy to go along with your authenticity will make you a person that people will respect and want to be around.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on September 9, 2021.