Our True Selves and purpose in life
RESEARCH BRIEF
Authenticity is broadly defined as knowing and expressing one’s True Self. Scholars suggest that authenticity has to do with living in accordance with one’s values and beliefs; striving for genuineness and openness in close relationships; and being consciously aware of one’s own mental state, regardless of whether thoughts or feelings are socially undesirable or conflicting. (Scholars have a variety of subclassifications – trait versus state authenticity, subjective versus objective – but for us, a basic understanding will do!)
Research question: Is authenticity important to living with purpose and meaning?
How researchers studied this question: In a diary study conducted by Lutz and colleagues, college students completed surveys in which they reported feelings and experiences of authenticity, meaning/purpose, life satisfaction, mood, and self-esteem at the end of each day for two weeks. In a similar diary study involving college students, Guenther and colleagues examined the relationship between self-reported authenticity and positive self-appraisal.
Answer: Yes, living with authenticity (that is, making everyday choices that align with one’s beliefs and values) predicts well-being and purpose in life and these positive feelings hold over into the next day. Further, viewing oneself positively seems to have a reciprocal relationship with feeling authentic. People with positive self-regard tend to have higher authenticity self-ratings and people who rate themselves as having high levels of authenticity also seem to have positive self-regard, both of which predict meaning/purpose in life.
So What? The foundation of purpose in life is knowing ourselves, maintaining a real-time barometer of our thoughts and feelings, and then acting on what is True for us. This enables us to live out OUR purpose rather than someone else’s. It may be that regarding ourselves positively, even inaccurately so, gives us the strength to live in ways that are true for us. And when we actually live authentically, we like ourselves even more.
How about you? Have you taken a recent inventory of your values, strengths, beliefs, and sources of personal meaning? Do you maintain a pulse on your interior landscape, knowing what you’re thinking and feeling in real time? How consistently do you act in ways that are True for you in everyday life? If you need a little help with this, consider taking the Compass Course.
Onward!
Sources:
Guenther CL, Zhang Y, Sedikides C (2023). The authentic self is the self-enhancing self: A self-enhancement framework of authenticity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 1461672231160653. doi: 10.1177/01461672231160653.
Find the abstract here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37002664/
Lutz PK, Newman DB, Schlegel RJ, Wirtz D (2023). Authenticity, meaning in life, and life satisfaction: A multicomponent investigation of relationships at the trait and state levels. Journal of Personality, 91(3), 541-555. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12753.
Find the abstract here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35837852/