True to yourself? Or do you put a mask on? Airs? Pretense? Authenticity means you have drilled down to the essence of you, the concentrate that remains after eliminating all that's not you. As life progresses it becomes increasingly difficult to not be who you are, to pretend, to act as if you were someone else than the you you were meant to be. Often it takes a lifetime to create this work of art that's becoming you. And when you approach your true self it feels better and better. Keep drilling down. It's hard, I know.
If you don’t, cracks will appear - of the mental and physical kind. Cracks that create an opening, possibilities, the path towards who you might become. People recognize if it's you they see, or if you are pretending. As teenagers and young adults we experiment with who we might want to become. Sometimes we already know what's underneath, sometimes we have no clue. It's that search, if we truly honor that search, that's so rewarding. Are you getting closer? Do you do more things you really like? That you really resonate with? Do you spend time with people who really mean something to you? Do you feel good about yourself?
Dealing with cracks is difficult. But cracks are only a means to an end, they are not the thing itself. If you navigate small cracks with awareness no major breakdowns may ever occur. If you ignore when the cracks become bigger and bigger, you may face major physical and mental challenges.
I become realer as time goes by. It seems that I reach plateaus in increments and encounter small cracks all along, which I try to be aware of. Mid-way through my studies, in my early twenties, I couldn't take Europe any longer and had to leave. Then, when my daughter was young I went through the next major phase of reorganization, which announced itself with mild depression and anxiety, and then brought forth a master's degree and two books. Now I am going through another phase of soul searching and drilling down into my own authenticity, working through The Work by Byron Katie and defining how to take my spiritual endeavors towards something that actually resembles a business, a business that expresses who I am. Here's an earlier related post “beYoutiful."
Where are you at? Are you still drilling?