GOOD BYE MR. NICE GUY = HELLO MR. AUTHENTIC AUTHORITY

I was proud to make that statement about myself through much of my early adult life. I was a Nice Guy. I wanted to treat people well, and I wanted to be liked. I couldn’t understand why everyone didn’t have a similar personal mantra.

While in my early 30’s, in spite of my unwavering faith in this philosophy, my life was in crises. One marriage had ended. A second one wasn’t going so well. My career dreams were stalled. I was frustrated, resentful, and confused. If you talked to the people closest to me, I wasn’t so nice.

Within a short amount of time, I came to see that the problem was ME. I had an agenda. I had no boundaries. I was indirect. I was passive-aggressive. I wasn’t honest. I wasn’t always so nice.

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY HELLO MR. AUTHENTIC 
 

AUTHENTIC 

• from Greek authentikos “original, genuine, principal,”
• from authentes “one acting on one’s own authority,”
• from autos “self” (see auto-) + hentes “doer, being,” from PIE *sene- “to accomplish, achieve.”

Being authentic, real, genuine, substantive, is to be an author of your life in accordance with morality, living a principal and genuine life in what is right, good and true. Going against morality, is going against a higher truer potential truth of the right way of living, going against the idealized maat, justice, righteousness, etc., and ultimately going against yourself, your optimal survival through cooperation. This is the principal capital in life for living socially: morality.