Is authenticity transient?

What is your authentic self? Are you the same self all the time?

Our thoughts, perceptions, perspectives, minds, and hearts are all evolving. The definition of I — “Who am I ? ” isn’t fixated. We change and change is the only constant.

We always evaluate things based on our current understanding of the world. This worldview we have created is based on our personality, values, and beliefs. I was not too fond of a series until I watched it. I had to watch The Office twice to like it. I never thought I would do a 9–5 job. I never thought I would think of buying a place. I always wanted to be a nomad. Times changed. My opinions changed. The common metrics I had to evaluate people and things, changed. Are you exactly the way you thought of yourself to be 5 years back? Do you have a roadmap to the next 5 years?

Don’t we act differently when nobody’s watching when we’re free from the eyes of judgment? I know a story that illustrates this: we often speak rudely to our relatives and loved ones, yet we converse with strangers and in formal meetings with utmost sweetness. Why is that? It’s because we fear judgment from outsiders, while within our family, that fear doesn’t exist. The point is we change, the tone in which we talk, our walk and expressions, and even our eyes and clothes everything that defines our personality.

All in all the definition of “Authenticity is transient” makes sense. The quality of being genuine and true is not permanent, it changes with time. What feels authentic to you at some point in your life might not hold at some other time.