Why "just be yourself" is the worst advice ever

Your weekly dose of midication

‘Just be yourself’ is often meted out as a kind of one-size-fits-all nugget of wisdom. It is laid on thick in the face of job interviews, dates, parties. But has anyone ever replied to this particularly TERRIFYING piece of advice: ‘Ah, yes. I get it now. The road to success is paved with all those instances of me just easily being myself. Because I am so good at that. Thank you, wise one, for opening the door to clarity. Job done.’

Or, do we, in fact, feel furious at being patronised with the bleeding obvious and simultaneously impossible task of meaningfully inhabiting our own existence today? Accessing who we are and then embodying it in the world? ‘Being true to yourself’ is the slightly c**tier version which could, at any moment, horrifyingly blossom into a ‘speak your truth’ offensive.