The Value Of Being Faithful To Oneself

The value of being true to oneself is enormous. To prove that being true to yourself can offer great benefits to your way of thinking and how you understand the world, I would like to share the principles of humanistic psychology.

It is very possible that you have heard of humanistic psychology. This movement has been and continues to be a valid alternative to behavioral science and Freudian psychoanalysis.

What is humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology is a school of psychology based on the fact that different states of conscience are an excellent means of achieving our full human potential, giving special meaning to the wordless experience.

Humanistic psychology is a modern trend that originated in the United States as part of the revolutionary cultural movements of the 1960s. It has finally established itself as a competent psychological approach in various social and artistic fields.

To justify the approaches of humanistic psychology, proponents of the trend rely on the theories of the famous French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau describes people as wild feet who have developed lucrative, benevolent, happy, and good natures. As long as harmful experiences or society itself do not spoil their character.

Being true to oneself according to humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology describes human characteristics as follows:

• Man should be universal. In every human being, emotions, behavior, actions, and thoughts come together into one whole.
• Human behavior is intentional, from a  personal point of view, in which freedom and self-esteem play an essential role.
• The personal existence of every being should go through a connection between people, a connection through  which every being develops. However, I always take care of my individuality in social relationships with my peers.
• A person is an independent person. Each individual is able to make their own decisions, decisions that in turn guide his or her development if he or she so desires.
• An independent person is able to assume their own responsibilities in both social and interpersonal relationships.

• The inherent and natural tendency of people is to realize themselves. This promotes individuality and personal growth.
• Every inner experience of every human being is personal and has a meaning in itself. These experiences are an essential axis on which each person’s self-perceptions build a network of observations.

Approaches to humanistic psychology

Let’s explore the different approaches that the theories of humanistic psychology offer. All of them show that it is paramount to be faithful to oneself in order to achieve the most meaningful existence possible:

• Existentialism:  is one of the classical approaches in humanistic psychology. The basic idea of existentialism is that the biggest problem for people is existence per se, not essence. In existentialism, time is interpreted as an opportunity for life and the future becomes an opportunity to live this time freely. Existentialists affirm that our anxiety makes no sense because people can take advantage of their existence through many other means of expression instead of the means that oppress them.
• Transpersonalism: This humanist flow supported by Maslow accepts a transpersonal approach where the  basic principle is based on human mental satisfaction. Satisfaction that revolves around a scale of necessities. We must give priority to these necessities depending on their relevance to our psychic lives.

• Carl Rogers ’ humanistic psychotherapy is based on two basic ideas. First, t complete trust in the relationship between therapist and client. This means both transferring empathy to the patient and understanding the patient’s experience and world so that the Therapist will be able to better understand the patient. Second, it implies  a complete rejection of the therapist’s leadership position. 
• Logotherapy. Viktor Frankl bases his humanistic approach on finding the purpose of life. A purpose that, in the face of challenging situations, serves as a guarantee of our mental health, a thread that binds us to life and that also prevents us from falling into awkward situations. Our loyalty to this idea is precisely the reason that in turn protects us.
• Transaction analysis. This approach, supported by Berne, describes humanistic psychology as a restorer and protector of trust and as the potential for the existence of the person in question.

• Bioenergetic approach: Lowen speaks in favor of exploring the nature of each person in order to avoid neurosis and repression of emotions, which in turn results from an inability to express his biological energy freely.

It is obvious that humanistic psychology focuses heavily on the importance of being true to oneself, because  only by being oneself can one be able to develop one’s enormous potential and psychic abilities.