In a world which is in a constant change, staying true to yourself and developing a personal inertia is one of the most powerful tools one can develop. Although the pressure to change coming from the outside can be felt on a constant basis, resisting the urge to seek change can offer peace of mind and a chance at happiness. This article will try to unearth why it is important to know, accept, and be proud of who you are.

Every individual is unique and this is one of the greatest gifts of nature. Throughout our lives, our goal is to conserve that uniqueness and give it extra dimensions. It is perfectly normal to take pride in who you are, even if your personal page is filled with flaws and defects. However, our entire life is a battle to preserve what to have and to avoid diluting our self into the great mass we call humanity. It might sound strange, but survival as an individuality is one of the basic human needs. During WWII, extermination camps used various means to inflict mental pain by stripping away all elements that gave identity and defined the perimeter of a person. De-personalized, detainees were easier to control and even created less compassion in the hearts of those ordered to kill them.

One way or another, keeping proportions, today’s society is doing the same thing. From the moment we make the first step into the sun, those around you will try to tell you what to do, what to think, and what to feel. Because we humans are social animals, the instinct is to accept those suggestions, and act according to them. A big part of that is far from being novice and we call it education. However, when the invisible reach goes too far we no longer talk about education. Conditioning might sound not so bad, but if you take the time to dig up all the implications you might be surprised.

Society conditions us to act according to its laws and accept the invisible system. More or less, we are talking about the role of pawns. We work all life, support the public system, act according to the instructions which come from an invisible mastermind, and generate little to none opposition. It is true that we get almost everything we need. A fine line is crossed when society steps up its guiding role and becomes a formwork, containing all of our energies and initiatives, and suppressing freedom.

The online environment is the best example to take a closer look at. You might think that you are who you are with all that freedom around. The truth is that you are dealing with a closed system. Everything that is written in social media or mainstream traditional media is there for a purpose, largely to educate your consumer habits. Big numbers often stand between you and the genius, yet unpopular idea you might have. Individuality lost the battle against the masses when the “like” as a tool for social validation was introduced. Your voice is heard and seems legitimate only when is put next to that of other thousands.

In this modern era, we like to enlarge things and make them more obvious. Individuality and the sense of self is no longer satisfied with the traditional boundaries and seeks inflation. As a direct result, we attach appendices and accessories, decorating the self with superficiality an excessive color. Our beliefs and principles are often left in the dark when it is much easier to put other thing on the table.

We tend to define an individual by the products and services he/she likes, falling in the trap of our consumer-based society. The car you drive is by far a more popular topic of conversation than what is your opinion on the origin of life. Of course, this is an extreme example, but is comes to show that we prefer beautiful lies instead of uncomfortable questions.

Staying true to who you are is an excellent decision one might take. However, some attentions needs to be focused on the original premises that molded the self. In most of the cases, we are dealing with an empty box in which the environment has put whatever appeared to fit.