@MercurialBlack @Leaflord This snarky reply is actually a great illustration of why advice as good as "be yourself," is thrown away so easily. How does someone who doesn't know themself even begin to contextualise themself, let alone being themself? In this example "It's good advice to someone who's already perfect," a person contextualises themselves as being inherently flawed, a common self-concept. Perhaps they did try to "be themselves," at some point, but they were met with social rejection or felt awkward and uncomfortable. Often they take on a chameleon-like role, identifying what others want and attempting to adapt themselves to it, that's what I did for much of my life. Or maybe they cast themselves in an ironic light, avoiding the teeth-pullingesque pain of vulnerability at all costs possible.

I'm sure some people have never had to look this dilemma in the eye. Perhaps they had never been put in a box, never oversocialised, never given self-bending demands, and were allowed to flourish naturally. But for the rest of us it is a journey.

Being yourself doesn't mean never changing or growing. If you desperately wish to be perfect, then you may still pursue it, but you must first accept yourself, imperfect as you are. And you must externalise the expectations of others, that mold you like clay. Not in the interest of not meeting these expectations, but in the interest of judging them as separate from yourself. This perhaps is the chief power that "being yourself," grants you. The power to judge. The power to say "This is right and this is wrong." The power to say "This is my path, and this is the path others gave to me." And the power to behold the great web of the self and see the places from which every aspect of yourself rises from.

If you wish to improve yourself, or become perfect. Then "being yourself," is a much more powerful place to start from than being lost in the sauce without any strong identity. (I'm vewy dwunk I hope this made sense)