Authentic people are so comfortable in their own skins they make us more comfortable in our own.

The challenge of being authentic for people pleasers is that we really want people to like and accept us. Being vulnerable, however, requires that we come to terms with the fact that not everyone is going to like us, and that it is okay. Not everyone needs to like us.

Do you really want people to like you for something that you’re not? It takes a lot of energy to pretend to be someone else for the sake of pleasing others.

As a lifetime people pleaser, I remember trying to mold myself into the person I thought other people wanted me to be—all for the sake of being liked and accepted. It caused more pain than gain.

As a young girl, I allowed my self-esteem to be determined by others’ opinions, and I devoted incredible energy tuning into how everyone else felt.

Why did I think that the mask was a better portrayal than my authentic self? We can get hidden under layers of illusion, can’t we?