[ Consistent ]

There’s a current culture around striving to be ‘authentic’.  Be true to yourself; allow yourself to be yourself.  It’s about not bending to others’ views or interests in order to fit in. 

These are valid goals.  It’s certainly good to strive for authenticity.  It’s not good to  conform to a culture you don’t fit into; that’s not being authentic.

Seth Godin has identified a better goal:  be consistent.  If you’re claiming authenticity, by default then you have to also be consistent.  If you can’t be consistent with your ‘authentic’ behaviour, then it’s not authentic. 

Consider consistency when striving for authenticity.