So many businesses and individuals describe themselves as being authentic. I know I have as well, but having looked deeper into authenticity, I am left wondering just how authentic we can be in this world.

The Mariam-Webster dictionary describes authenticity as "real or genuine: not copied or false, true and accurate, made to be or look just like an original."

We live in a multi-dimensional world full of influences. Our family, society, culture, environment, country, etc influence the way we conduct ourselves, giving us a base of how things "should" be. Every one of us is influenced by the world we live in. Even something like your need to have your clothes neat and tidy, look presentable, is a cultural/society-based influence we abide by.

In Eric Berne's Games People Play, he talks about the cultural, societal, relationship norms we follow, the absence of which is heavily frowned upon or labeled as "rude," "unmannered,'" etc in our society. An example I like is saying hi to people we don't really know, being polite, to look like good citizens. Or, even asking an insincere "how are you?" to people just to again maintain that feeling of politeness, when you perhaps don't even really want to know how they are doing. The person on the receiving end too, often answers, "good," even if on the inside they are thinking "I feel like shit. It's been a horrible day, where I have received some terrible news this morning...." They don't answer their truth because they see the other person as not really wanting to know. It is the societal script we follow. We go about our lives much on an autopilot mode, carrying with us the information passed down to us.

The media is probably one of the biggest influences there is. Even just driving down the streets (in a city), you are likely to see some form of ad. Our phones, that which we use daily, have numerous ways of influencing our behavior from the way we dress, see ourselves, behave, see someone else, and pass our judgment based on limited perception.

How many of us have first looked at a new fashion trend and thought we'd never wear that, and a few months later, we ended up buying the same outfit we thought we never would?

Well, I certainly have.

Not all of the influences are bad, some can be good, some appear neutral, but when we are being subconsciously and unconsciously influenced, the question remains: how authentic are we really? How genuine can we be in the world where even the energy of a room, a person, can influence us?

If authenticity is real and genuine, how real and genuine can we be when so much of our lives are filled with outside influences?

I do think it's possible. To be as genuine as we can to the best of our abilities.

To be able to do that, we need to be aware of the positive, negative, and seemingly neutral forces around us. Rather than walking blindly, believing all that has been passed down, taught to us, we need to question them and choose the most suitable path for ourselves.

Authenticity comes with high awareness. To be true to who you are, you need to know who you really are. Only then, you can choose to make consistent choices that seem true to who you are.