To be or not to be...

I’m positive that we have all experience mushfake, developing a fake identity to try to fit in into a situation. I know I have done it multiple times in my life. I have done it with friends. I used to be the type of person that was more of a follower than a leader. I was always trying to fit in with groups of people. Most of my elementary friends, in high school they became party people. Since they were my only friends and I knew them all my life I tried to mold myself into their form of acting, people they talked to and slang they used. I didn’t feel comfortable at all doing any of those things I didn’t feel myself but I didn’t act any different because I wanted to fit in.

My friends started drinking at a young age and doing cannabis and every time they invited me to join them in parties I felt the peer pressure to try to do what they were doing. Fortunately, I always had an excuse to avoid drinking or smoking whatever they were smoking. Yea I might had seemed like a wuss but I just didn’t like the idea of drinking at such a young age or doing drugs just because they were all doing it. Once I noticed they started getting intense on their partying I stayed away from them. I took a step back and just tried to get to know myself. I started asking myself what was it that I actually enjoyed, what I wanted to do, if I wanted to party my life away or I wanted to have a different experience.

Thankfully, I found who I was and what it was that I actually enjoyed doing. I became my own person instead of trying to fit in with everyone. I still talk to them but I don’t follow their steps anymore, I’m creating my own.

Same thing happened to me when I got my first job. I am a very shy person (Except after a couple glasses of wine), so it was difficult for me to interact with customers. My manager would tell me to observe other employees so that I could learn from them to give the “right” customer service. I used to do what they all did and it was a very boring and time consuming service so I decided to once again be myself and hope for the best.

Thankfully it did. I started being myself at work instead of following the old fashion and traditional customer service and it worked on my favor. Customers like the fact that I joke around with them and interacted more on a 1 on 1 friendly manner with different ideas that it helped me move up the ladder at work. My manager would get emails and phone calls of customers asking for me or thanking them for letting me help them because it was a different experience. So now whenever we have new hired people they asked me to train them. All I tell them is to forget all they think customer service is and just be themselves. Usually customer appreciate when you are yourself and not act like your whole job is scripted. Because then everyone acts and sounds the same. We all look like robots asking the same questions and offering the same service.

I understand we must “fake it until we make it”, but at the end of the day it’s better to show who you are because when you finally feel comfortable and the real you come out, everyone starts thinking differently about you. Stay true to yourself and then you won’t have to fake it. You’ll know what are your personal strengths and how to act in situations.