In the Galway City Tribune dated 21/06/13 Charlie Adley, in an article titled ‘There is nothing wrong with negative thinking’, questions the usefulness of certain kinds  of therapy stating ‘maybe it’s vital to feel sad and blue. On a rare day, a little bit of hopeless is okay.’ 

Fast forward a few days to the Connacht Sentinel, where Carmel Sheridan is asking us ‘Are you one of life’s enablers?’ In the article she states someone could be an enabler if, for example, ‘you have a habit of rescuing a friend who is constantly in crisis,’ among other examples given. According to her ‘long term it only causes harm.’

Right let’s look at the Galway Independent the following day, where we have Ronan Scully, in an article titled ‘Other Centred’, telling us ‘we need to make a shift from self-centeredness to other-centeredness.’ What a contrast from Carmel Sheridan’s article the previous day. Either of these approaches and seemingly we will avoid the negativity which Charlie Adley maintains is a necessary part of life.

Are any of these writers correct? Are they all wrong? Do we need advice on how best to live our lives? Many people maintain we do and the proliferation of self help books in any bookshop might suggest this.

However, I have a simple solution that solves the dilemma of life that we all face. It’s as simple as ‘Be Youself’. At the end of the day that’s all any of us can be if we are to be true and authentic. Surprisingly, this doesn’t stop many people taking on personas that are totally divorced from their true selves.

Be yourself and you’ll feel at home anywhere. It’s as short and simple as that. If you want to be a Mother Teresa type or the most self-centred obnoxious moron that ever graced the planet (not my preference, I must quickly state) then be that person. Be the person that you are meant to be and the only person you can be. A simple request but a gift to everybody you will ever meet.