Doing this is essential to securing a happy life

The pressure society places on us to change can be quite intense.

Commercials encouraging us to whip ourselves into shape so that we can look like runway supermodels.

Friends goading us to nix our career dreams in favor of safe, lucrative professions -- from law to medicine -- in which we may have zero interest.

Co-workers pressuring us to talk more since our quiet disposition puts them ill at ease.

This can all make us quite tempted to fundamentally change our personality and interests -- to curry favor with others, to win their approval.

What these ads and individuals don't tell you is that changing who you are is antithetical to a happy life.

If anything, it's a recipe for adverse physical and emotional health outcomes, potentially leading to anything from eating disorders to anxiety or depression.

Do realize that marketers and the people in your own life all have an agenda.

The former are trying to appeal to your emotions so as to get you to part with your hard-earned cash.

The latter may simply be looking for an ego boost ("ha, I got him to change!"), a way to validate their own beliefs/opinions, or a method for grappling with their own disquieting insecurities.

Accepting you who you are -- the real, most authentic version of yourself -- is paramount if you are to secure happiness.

That means silencing the voices around you by firmly reminding yourself of your gifts, talents, passions, and principles. It means remembering that those pushing you to steer in a different direction aren't paying your bills and likely do not have your best interests in mind.

Do not take the bait.

There is nothing wrong with receiving well-meaning tips and suggestions. Some might actually serve you well.

But if you're being needled into becoming a version of yourself you know deviates from your core principles -- from the values that make you who you are -- you must resist.

At the end of the day, no one else has a right to tell you what constitutes a happy life. We determine that for ourselves.

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