Be Yourself Is Horrible Advice Analysis

While reading the article entitled “Unless You’re Oprah, ‘Be Yourself’ Is Terrible Advice” by Adam Grant, I found that I was immediately drawn to it because I agreed with many of the concepts Grant addressed. To be honest, I did not realize what a commonly used phrase “be yourself” was, and still is, until he pointed it out. Grant points out that while most people claim honesty and authenticity is the best policy, when this theory is actually put into use the negative effects of the two can be observed very quickly. Grant utilizes an experiment performed by author A.J. Jacobs to demonstrate these negative effects. Jacob’s efforts at being “totally authentic” backfired rather quickly. While Jacobs was being open and honest in his communication with others he was also damaging some of his relationships and breaking other’s spirits. This illuminates Grant’s claim that “No one wants to hear everything that’s in your head. They just want you to live up to what comes out of your mouth.” …show more content…
Often times, I find myself censoring my thoughts or being ever so careful in my word choice when asked my opinion. Generally, I am cognizant of my social environment and rely on the verbal and nonverbal cues of others to determine my response in a conversation or situation. This directly relates to the concept of transacting identity through invocation mentioned in chapter 3 of the text Communication in Everyday Life by Duck and McMahan. When analyzing social cues to determine my response, I am demonstrating presentation of self which is saying something about myself to receive an intended response or to be perceived in a particular