What is authenticity?

I’m a fan of dictionary definitions as a place to start a conversation. And this one is going to be GOOD.

Because our friends at Merriam-Webster have a plethora of definitions for authenticity (the practice of being authentic). So let’s break it down to figure out what we mean by “being authentic” when it comes to personal branding.

Definition #1

The very first definition that the Dictionary giant includes is, “worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact”.

Ooh. I’ve been hankering to talk about this since I read an article in the Scientific American titled, “The Inconvenient Truth about Your “Authentic” Self”. The article states their research indicates that people feel more authentic when they are abiding by societal norms, whether or not that’s what they would naturally be inclined to do.

And based on this definition, they’re probably right.

If we are only worthy of acceptance when conforming to a “fact”, it makes us unworthy when we don’t.

But when it comes to personal branding, this doesn’t fly. Unless you are going to set the FACT as who you truly are. The problem is, as long as society doesn’t set this as the FACT, this definition doesn’t work in the personal branding arena.

Owning your personal brand has nothing to do with attaching your feelings of worth to something outside yourself. It’s about aligning your actions with the things that inherently make you feel fulfilled; not the things that society has convinced us make us feel fulfilled.

Definition #2

The second definition isn’t really any better: “conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features”.

Ugh.

This is still talking about conforming. And when it comes to personal branding, even assuming there’s something outside of yourself that you need to conform to isn’t the point.

It’s not your job to conform to something so that you can reproduce it. If it comes naturally from you, you aren’t reproducing it, you’re creating it. There’s just straight up nothing about this definition that makes sense to me when it comes to personal branding.

You’re not here to reproduce “essential features” or to conform.

Ugh.

Definition #3

Not that different from #2: “made or done the same way as an original”.

In even speaking about doing something the same way, you in essence eliminate the potential of something being original. I might have to contact MW about making some changes to these definitions.

Definition #4

Ok, now we’re making some progress: “not false or imitation”.

Here we finally get to talking about something being REAL.

In the personal branding arena, when we speak about being authentic, it’s based in this definition. In being REAL. Not pretending to be anything that you’re not. But although this one is getting close, the next definition is the winner for me.

Definition #5

Here’s where authenticity starts to come to life in personal branding: “true to one's own personality, spirit, or character”.

It’s all about being TRUE to you :)

But here’s the problem. This is definition #5. And so many of the other definitions tend to influence the ways we FEEL about being authentic FIRST, that it’s difficult to actually get to the point where it feels EASY to be true to your own character.

In definitions like these, we forget that it takes practice to be true to ourselves.

Sometimes we will fail.

And the danger there is that we STOP believing this is the empowering definition, and we go back to conforming.

This is why it’s so important to choose your definition (see below) and OWN it. Just like you own your personal brand.

And remember that it becomes easier when you have a community of people who will keep pushing you in your defined direction even when it feels hard (this is where Your Business Peeps come in).

Maybe a Synonym Helps

There were also a couple of synonyms listed that I think are worth mentioning, specifically from the personal branding standpoint:

• GENUINE implies “actual character not counterfeited, imitated, or adulterated”. When I think of what it means to truly own your personal brand, this definition nails it. It IS all about showing up with your actual character leading the way, and not about imitating anything. It also speaks to a “definite origin from a source”, which I also think is relevant here. YOU are the source of your personal brand, and therefore anything that is tied directly to your definite origin by default isn’t imitated.

• BONA FIDE implies good faith and sincerity of intention. The reason why I wanted to include this in the conversation is that, when it comes to personal branding, intention is everything. When you sincerely share things in good faith, that speaks to your true character. That’s you being YOU.

Choosing YOUR Definition

At the end of the day, it’s up to YOU to choose your definition. And, as always, I encourage you to choose one that is empowering for you, and not just there to meet someone else’s expectations.

You are a uniquely unique soul. And every day you have the opportunity to show up as THAT, or as something else.

Throughout this exercise, I’ve realized that being GENUINE is a better representation of what I believe happens on the personal branding journey. And that’s because that feels right for me.

And I’ll leave you with this: if you are feeling inauthentic, disingenuous, or that you wouldn’t say you are showing up with your actual personality at the current time, we should chat.