Before walking your truest path to inner peace and happiness you must first discover and be true to yourself. The efforts of seeking approval and connections with others through submission and imitation, though flattering, will neither connect you very deeply with them nor allow you to understand, trust and grow confident in yourself.
Only when you stop acting or “performing” in an effort to receive acceptance, will you know genuine connections and more meaningful interactions. The act alone of putting forth a false persona severely diminishes or eliminates your chance of knowing quality interactions or genuine long term relationships for lack of honesty and respect.
Try acting and reacting to others, and to yourself, truer to the one person whose innermost feelings, opinions and concerns are not only paramount in your life, but just as important as anyone else’s. In fact, without paying them due respect you will never know happiness beyond a very limited point for such a state can only exist as an extension of your True Self!
Having the freedom to just be, speak your truth from center and connecting in ways that are deeper, more meaningful and longer lasting, is truly a beautiful state of heart!

Author's Bio: 

Don Neviaser is a Certified Life Coach and author, utilizing both careers helping people move beyond restrictive mindsets and debilitating self-perceptions to a place of inner unity, appreciation and gratitude for who they are and what they are capable of; all in line with who they really are; their True Self!
He has been writing for 35 years and to date has published 4 self-help books that expound on the power and effectiveness of perspective and an attitude of gratitude in making all the difference between existing or truly living from the heart.