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Today’s quote is from André Gide He lived from 1869 to 1951 and was a French novelist, essayist, and literary critic who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947. His writing explored individuality, morality, personal freedom, and the struggle between social expectations and authentic self-expression. His notable works include The Immoralist, The Counterfeiters, and Strait Is the Gate.
André Gide once said…
“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.”
The quote is widely attributed to André Gide and is associated with his novel Autumn Leaves (Les Feuillets d'automne, 1949). The English wording varies across sources and translations.
It is a normal human desire to be liked, to fit in and to seek approval. The danger is that sometimes this desire to be accepted can lead to hiding parts of ourselves and adopt beliefs we don’t really believe. Or we may pretend to enjoy something just to go along with the cool crowd.
If you make a habit of pretending to be someone else then when someone likes the pretend version of you it kind of feels inauthentic. Like you tricked them or something.
Sure you might be surrounded by people who like you but if what they like isn’t even you then you end up feeling alone.
Maybe it would be better to be your authentic self and let the world see who you really are. But that doesn’t mean refusing to compromise because sometimes that is the right thing to do. You can be honest and still be kind, respectful and willing to listen.
Genuine relationships are possible when people get to know the real you.We can’t control whether everyone likes us and we shouldn’t expect them to.
Gide says it is better to be hated for for what you are than to be loved for what you are not. That doesn’t mean that the goal is to be hated for being your true self. The goal is to stop sacrificing who you are just to avoid the chance someone won’t like you.
And guess what… you will probably find your people if you are respectfully YOU.
So here’s the question:
Is there an area of your life where you might be pretending to be something your not just to gain someone else’s approval? And would you be better off just letting the real you shine through.
That’s going to do it for today.
I’m Andrew McGivern signing off for now, but I’ll be back… tomorrow! Same pod time, same pod station with another Daily Quote.
