You be you! Hell yeah!

Sometimes things happen and when you see them, you’re so much in agreement that you find yourself shouting out in agreement. You know what I mean. You’re in line at the convenience store and your son sends you a text that he’s getting a raise or been accepted into the school of his choice. Of course, you’re going to not give a care in the world and yell out “Hell yea.”

You’re half awake, slowly starting the day and you check the late scores and see that your favorite basketball team came back to win in overtime, “Damn straight.” And then there’s Merriam-Webster, the dictionary people, announcing a couple of weeks ago that the word of the year, an annual recognition given to a word that dominates searches and lookup volume on the dictionary’s website, was “authentic.”

I happened to be waiting in a drive-through prescription pick-up line, saw the story, and had to look strange to other passersby the way I was raising my hands and shaking my head up and down. I had to look like I was a raving loon.

But, I couldn’t agree more with their statement: “Although clearly a desirable quality, authentic is hard to define and subject to debate — two reasons it sends many people to the dictionary.”

A word with some punch

If there’s one thing we need more in this crazy, plastic-filled world that we live in, it’s more authenticity and it’s sibling words, integrity, genuine, and vulnerability. To be authentic in everyday life means to be true to your own personality, ideals, and values, regardless of the situation, stress, or pressure. You’re honest with yourself and with others, and your values, ideals, and actions align.

Unfortunately, we live in strange times when posh represents the trusted and everyone seems to be fighting to be the loudest and most obnoxious, so when you come across someone or something that’s authentic, you definitely come back for more. And no, I don’t think the world is coming to an end, I’m not a doomsayer, I just think we need to put our trust in things that matter and that starts with authenticity.

AUTHENTIC
adjective
au·​then·​tic
Genuine, bona fide mean being actually and exactly what is claimed. Implies being fully trustworthy as according with fact; It can also stress painstaking or faithful imitation of an original.

You know with authentic that it might not be correct 24/7, but, no matter what, you know what you’re getting. There are very few things in this world that meet those criteria, but they exist.

There’s lots of great wisdom about authenticity, but I like what Brene Brown said the best. “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.”

Let’s add some more

Of course Merriam-Webster wasn’t done. Here are 13 other words it highlighted as standouts for 2023:

Last year, Merriam-Webster’s word of the year was “gaslighting.” In 2021 and 2020, the words were “vaccine” and “pandemic,” respectively.

These are fine words, but I think they’re missing out a few key ones that may not be talked about all that much, but should be on the tip of people’s mouths. They include

• Trust
• Kindness
• Paradox
• Generous
• Collaboration

What would you add to the 2023 list?