Practicing Authenticity
Defining goals and persisting
This week marks the 10th article of this series, In Pursuit of Finding my Voice! A bit mind-boggling to think that it has been 10 weeks already. To mark this little milestone, I thought it fitting to reflect a bit on the progress of my journey with this newsletter. As the title says, I set out to figure out what I want to speak about in the digital space. In other words, to own my voice and my opinions on the internet. A part of my goal was also to find out if there are specific topics that resonate more than others to see which part of my reflections to lean in more. Or to say it in marketing terms, was there a niche or broader category that I can create for myself?
As most of you will know, I am not a fan of ‘niche-ing down’ and only presenting one (often) exaggerated part of oneself on the internet. Yes, it’s much easier to play into the algorithms of the various platforms to gain followers and reach through focusing on only a handful of topics, but isn’t it proven that this type of behavior has incredibly negative impacts for our self-perception and the psychology of the younger generation? Whenever I ask ‘where can people learn more about you’ on The Arts in Business podcast, I am met with a short pause before my interviewees answer. Michael Littig and Brian Patrick Murphy put words to this pause in their respective episodes. They responded with their struggle to use social media because they haven’t figured out how to be authentic on these platforms. Many of us share the same discomfort of the tension between authenticity and social media.
Every time I feel that perhaps it is time to give into the pull of the algorithms, I come across people who have and continue to grow stubbornly by championing authenticity. This week I came across Justin Schuman who describes himself as human creative director and authentic content strategist. In his TED Talk The Practice of Being Yourself, he speaks about owning his name, his full self, and defines authenticity as the practice of being yourself. There are so many different forces that make it hard for us to be our full selves and the social media algorithms don’t create the most amiable environments. Justin’s words and practice were a great encouragement for me this week to continue with my practice. Currently, I am choosing to post about whatever I find exciting, something new I come across, or information/thoughts that might be helpful to those that follow me. Is this strategy working for me? I think it’s too early to tell, and definitely too early to abandon it for something quick. In one of his TikToks, Justin said that authentically building a community online is moving like a glacier – it’s almost imperceptibly slow but the impact can be incredibly great. This week I am choosing to find strength and conviction in that statement. What are your anchor points that keep encouraging you to pursue authenticity?
One of my greatest joys is engaging in conversations on The Arts in Business. The exploration of artistic sensibilities forces everyone to look at their live and practices more holistically rather than a segmented approach. Who feels like they can bring their authentic selves to work? Or bring their business knowledge into artistic philosophical conversations? With close friends and mentors there might be an overlap but otherwise, it’s often easier to keep one’s identities separate. A certain level of adaptation is always necessary, for sure. However, I have been in a few situations where I didn’t feel confident enough to bring my more spiritual insights into a professional discussion for fear of being dismissed or judged – even if they would have been valuable at that point. Conversations on the podcast allow me to traverse the philosophical, esoteric, spiritual, professional, and concrete which is honestly refreshing and just plain fun. I hope that it is the same for my guests and listeners.
In the end, it really comes down to your individual goals. If we are trying to build a very specific business online, leaning into a niche is just a smart decision. However, if we want to be ourselves in the digital space and share our full self with others, we need to refine and remind ourselves of why we are doing so. For me, I want to amplify other voices from different walks of life and areas of practice. For that I want to build my online presence in order to strengthen my network and make new connections. I strongly believe in leading by example and so I want to practice and pursue authenticity online so that others might feel encouraged to do the same. We don’t all need to be present online and there are so many people who thrive in their physical communities with their connections. Nevertheless, for those of us who choose to take a part of their lives to digital platforms, we should refine our purpose and what we hope to achieve. Not only can it help us to keep going in moments of struggle, but it can provide the guiding path and challenge to embrace ourselves and what we have to offer.
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