What if cultivating your authentic self doesn’t involve self-reflection, but instead means focusing on what feels good and natural?

After following a white rabbit down a hole in the ground and changing sizes several times, Alice finds herself wondering “Who in the world am I?”

This scene, from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” might resonate with you: In a world that’s constantly changing, it can be challenging to find your authentic self.

I am psychologist, and over the past few years my colleagues and I have been conducting research to better understand what it means to be authentic. Our findings provide some valuable insights that not only shed light on what is meant by authenticity — a somewhat vague term whose definition has been debated — but can also offer some tips for how to tap into your true self.

What is authenticity?

In “Sincerity and Authenticity,” literary critic and professor Lionel Trilling described how society in past centuries was held together by the commitment of people to fulfilling their stations in life, whether they were blacksmiths or barons.

Trilling argued that people in modern societies are much less willing to give up their individuality, and instead value authenticity.

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