48: How To Be Authentic - Friedrich Nietzsche (Existentialism)

Friedrich Nietzsche - How To Be Authentic (Existentialism)
Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, and philologist and is considered as one of the greatest and most unusual thinkers of all time. He was one of the precursors of existentialism. Existentialism is more a cultural movement rather than a philosophical one, which considers that freedom is at the core of human existence, all human values should be based on it and, moreover, existentialism affirms “the categorical moral imperative of authenticity”. In line with the theory of existentialism, Nietzsche talked about the importance of having an authentic life. In existentialism, authenticity is the degree to which a person's actions are in line with their beliefs and desires, despite the pressure from society to behave in one way or another.  Nietzsche emphasized having the courage to be authentic and to fight against the tyranny of popular beliefs. So to understand how his ideas can help you in your life, here are 7 ways we can learn to be authentic from the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.
01. Accept yourself as a totality
02. Follow your own path
03. Accept that you are different
04. Obey only yourself
05. Do not be ashamed  
06. Forgive yourself
07. Live dangerously
I hope you enjoyed listening to these 7 ways in which you can learn to be authentic from the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche and find them helpful in your life. 

Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher, poet, essayist, and cultural critic. He is considered to be one of the most daring and greatest thinkers of all time. His writings on truth, morality, language, aesthetics, cultural theory, history, nihilism, power, consciousness, and the meaning of existence have exerted an enormous influence on Western philosophy and intellectual history. He was one of the biggest precursors of existentialism, which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent, determining their own development through acts of will. By his famous words “God is dead!”, Nietzsche moved the focus of philosophy from metaphysics to the material world and to the individual as a responsible person for his own life. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote several books like The Birth of a Tragedy,  Human, All Too Human, The Dawn, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, Twilight of the Idols, The Will to Power, The Antichrist, and many more. His teachings have shaped the lives of many people; from psychologists to poets, dancers to social revolutionaries.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
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how to be authentic from the philosophy ofFriedrich Nietzsche.

(00:22):
Nietzsche says “No price is too high topay for the privilege of owning yourself.”
Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher,cultural critic, composer, poet, and philologist
and is considered as one of the greatest andmost unusual thinkers of all time.
He was one of the precursors of existentialism.

(00:46):
Existentialism is more a cultural movementrather than a philosophical one, which considers
that freedom is at the core of human existence,all human values should be based on it and,
moreover, existentialism affirms “the categoricalmoral imperative of authenticity”.
In line with the theory of existentialism,Nietzsche talked about the importance of having

(01:09):
an authentic life.
In existentialism, authenticity is the degreeto which a person's actions are in line with
their beliefs and desires, despite the pressurefrom society to behave in one way or another.
Nietzsche emphasized having the courage tobe authentic and to fight against the tyranny
of popular beliefs.

(01:31):
He wrote several books, including “ThusSpoke Zarathustra”, “Beyond Good and Evil”,
“The Birth of Tragedy”, and “The Twilightof the Idols”.
His teachings have shaped the lives of manypeople; from psychologists to poets, dancers
to social revolutionaries.
So to understand how his ideas can help youin your life, here are 7 ways we can learn

(01:55):
to be authentic from the philosophy of FriedrichNietzsche.
1.
Accept yourself as a totalityIn the words of Nietzsche: “It is a myth
to believe that we will find our authenticself after we have left behind or forgotten
one thing or another . . . To make ourselves,to shape a form from various elements – that

(02:20):
is the task!
The task of a sculptor!
Of a productive human being!”
One of the recurrent themes in the philosophyof Nietzsche is the idea of becoming who we
are.
By this process, we do not build our characterby trying to copy role models as per society’s
standards in the attempt to become perfect,but rather we take everything into account,

(02:44):
all the parts of ourselves, the good and thebad.
We sculpt ourselves into something that wechoose, using all sides of our personality,
ignoring none.
This process requires a deep acceptance ofany negative traits of ourselves, we need
to stop judging our characteristics, no matterhow ugly they are.

(03:07):
We have to find strength in weakness, beautyin the ugly.
There is a saying that the secret of successis to make strengths out of our weaknesses
and this saying can be considered in linewith Nietzschean philosophy.
For example, consider that you are not goodat confronting others, defending your rights

(03:27):
or verbally expressing your rejection of something.
Let’s say your neighbour has the habit ofparking his car in front of your house, blocking
your entrance.
Instead of feeling sorry for yourself thatyou do not have the courage to confront your
neighbour and trying to ignore the subject,pretending that it does not bother you, or,
worse, forcing yourself to confront the neighbourand thereby putting yourself in a bigger stress,

(03:52):
you should start accepting this trait of yourpersonality and make it a strength.
Instead of saying “I am not good at confrontation”,try saying “I am good at avoiding confrontation”.
In this way, you remain authentic to yourself,you accept the traits of your personality
even when they are not desirable.

(04:13):
You should find ways to solve your problemsand remain authentic to yourself at the same
time.
You can write a very polite letter to yourneighbour, and put it in his mailbox.
In this letter, you can write that you aresorry for disturbing him with your request,
but you have difficulty entering and exitingyour house because of his car and you can
offer him your help to find a better parkingsolution.

(04:37):
This way, you remain authentic to yourselfand you will have created an opportunity to
solve your problem by solving his problem.
2.
Follow your own pathAccording to Nietzsche: “There is one path
in the world that none can walk but you.
Where does it lead?

(05:00):
Don’t ask, walk!”
Nietzsche believed that embracing difficultiesis essential in having a fulfilling life,
and although the journey to self-discoveryis one of the most difficult ones, it is also
the most rewarding.
Although this journey is very difficult, weneed to have the courage to take it and stop

(05:20):
second guessing.
Nietzsche said we have an inner voice thatwe should listen to, a voice that guides us
on this journey and that we have a duty to“become who we are.”
There is nobody else who can help us walkthis path, it is only this inner voice we
should follow and we need to stop questioningit.

(05:42):
Most people do not have concrete goals inlife, they imitate what others do like finding
a good job, marrying someone, having children,buying a house, buying a car and so on.
To live an authentic life, it is importantto make a habit of listening to your inner
voice, no matter how big the contradictionbetween the path you are currently following

(06:03):
and the direction the inner voice is pointing.
For example, if you are a construction engineer,but you know inside yourself that you have
great potential to develop your artistic skillsin painting, you should start listening to
this inner voice more.
You might start by buying the necessary materialsand spending an hour or two every day practicing

(06:23):
every day.
Follow videos or take a class in painting,try to get them displayed in local exhibitions,
sell prints online and so on.
Do everything possible to follow your innervoice when it tries to tell you what your
true calling is in life.
3.
Accept that you are differentTo quote Nietzsche: “And those who were

(06:48):
seen dancing were thought to be insane bythose who could not hear the music.”
Nietzsche believed that there is no rightway to live your life, that everything which
is authentic is beyond good and evil, thatwe do not have an objective right to judge
other people’s actions as good or bad.

(07:09):
Other people can be quite different from ourselvesbut, even if we cannot “hear their music”,
we should not judge them.
We do not have any objective right to judgepeople for who they are, whether that’s
a different sexual orientation, unusual fashionsense, annoying habits, or a different political
opinion.

(07:30):
Just because we do not understand these orientationsand behaviors, we do not have the right to
declare them ‘bad’ or ‘wrong'.
Equally, if we are the ones who are very differentfrom others, we should ignore what others
think of us.
They have no right to call us whatever theylike just because they don’t understand
us.

(07:51):
To live an authentic life, we need to livefree from the judgments of others, and in
doing so, let others live freely as well.
Nietzsche didn’t have a glorious life, hewas rarely praised for his philosophical work
during his lifetime.
He never sought money and fame, he chose tobe authentic and write in an honest way, in

(08:14):
line with his true philosophy.
While Nietzsche focused on authenticity, hecould see others desperately running for trophies
and plaudits, their main goal in life to shinein front of others and assert their superiority.
One example Nietzsche experienced during hislife was his good friend and famous composer

(08:36):
Richard Wagner.
They met frequently; Nietzsche admired themusical geniality of Wagner, and Wagner admired
the intelligence and artistic skills of Nietzsche.
However, because of an event in Bayreuth,Germany, Nietzsche decided to leave Wagner
and his circle, disgusted by the dramaticstyle he used in making music to gain popularity.

(09:00):
Nietzsche considered that Wagner started tocompose music for the masses, to make an impression
on them, leading him towards higher peaksof success because of that inauthentic way
of composing music.
Nietzsche expressed his disgust towards thekind of people who seek praise at the expense
of authenticity.
Such people, as Richard Wagner, are not followingtheir own path, they are following somebody

(09:25):
else’s path, in Wagner’s case, “themasses”.
Following what is popular is living againstyourself, especially when there is a big difference
between who you really are and society’sstandards.
If you are homosexual for example and youare raised in a deeply religious family who

(09:45):
rejects this, you need to try to stop caringabout what they think of you.
They simply cannot “hear your music”,they cannot understand you, and so to be authentic
to yourself you need to choose ‘you’ over‘them’.
There is no point in trying to fit in witha group which does not understand you.

(10:06):
You must accept that you are different andyou should not worry what those people say
about you.
4.
Obey only yourselfNietzsche tells us: “He who obeys, does
not listen to himself!”
In Nietzsche’s view, we need to become ourown masters, to have enough willpower to overcome

(10:29):
temptations, urges, obsessions, because otherwisewe will be commanded.
Nietzsche considered that there are two fundamentaltypes of morality: "master morality" and "slave
morality".
Master morality values pride and power andslave morality values kindness, empathy, and

(10:52):
sympathy.
Although slave morality seems to be a morehumanistic one and more embraced nowadays,
Nietzsche warned that this kind of moralitycan make us obey other people more easily,
will make us forget our own aspirations andwill prevent us from acting in an authentic
way.
If we become too empathetic towards others,there is the danger that we will meet those

(11:15):
who will take advantage of that empathy.
Therefore, for the sake of our own psychologicalhealth, it is better to balance empathy with
self-confidence and self-respect.
For example, if somebody close to you, a spouseor a sibling is taking advantage of your good
nature and coercing you to do things you wouldnot normally do such as giving up some of

(11:37):
your hobbies to help them in some businessventure, or driving them to the airport instead
of going to an important meeting for yourcareer and so on, you need to have the courage
to tell them no.
If you obey others, no matter how close toyou they are, it means you do not nourish
yourself enough, you do not listen to yourneeds and desires and you will end up living

(12:01):
a life without authenticity, controlled bythe interests of others.
5.
Do not be ashamedNietzsche asks us: “What is the seal of
liberation?
Not to be ashamed in front of oneself.”
For Nietzsche, feeling shame is like sayingno to life.

(12:25):
Someone who is ashamed of himself will nottake the risk to do anything bold for fear
of further embarrassment.
People who are prone to shame are easily controlled,as the shamers will take advantage to keep
the shamed in their place.
Nietzsche considered that religion makes peoplefeel ashamed of themselves on purpose.

(12:45):
Shame that goes beyond outward actions, downto one’s very thoughts, using so-called
‘sins’, to control their followers.
Nietzsche considered this way of thinkingto be inhumane, as when you no longer feel
ashamed of yourself, it means you accept yourentire being: You are living authentically

(13:05):
and free.
For example, imagine you are a financial accountantin a company and you made a huge mistake losing
your company tens of thousands of dollarsand your boss shamed you in front of everybody.
Of course you feel terrible at first, butyou should not give up your struggle to always
improve, day by day, expanding your skillsetand trying to win back the confidence of other

(13:31):
people in you.
To do so, you need first to accept that youmade a bad call and take steps to mitigate
any chance of you repeating the mistake infuture.
But more importantly, do not take the criticismyour boss gave you personally.
There is no reason to feel ashamed, all humansmake mistakes.

(13:52):
This mistake does not represent you as longas you continue improving yourself and learning
from it.
6.
Forgive yourselfNietzsche teaches us to: “Forgive yourself
your own self.
You have it in your power to merge everythingyou have lived through- false starts, errors,

(14:17):
delusions, passions, your loves and your hopes-into your goal, with nothing left over.”
Although forgiveness seems to be a Christianconcept, for Nietzsche, the self-proclaimed
Antichrist, forgiveness is important too,especially forgiving oneself.
Our life principles and attitudes will changein time and it is important to be kind to

(14:42):
the younger versions of ourselves.
We all make mistakes and even if we made bigmistakes in the past, we need to understand
that we didn’t know at that time what weknow today.
Sometimes, we will need to become harsh withideas and systems that we once loved in the
past, like Nietzsche did with Christianity.

(15:03):
He was a student of theology before beinga student of philology, but he was able to
forgive his younger self because he didn’tknow what his older-self knew about the roots
of Christianity, he was just fascinated byits shiny surface.
We should forgive ourselves for the mistakeswe have made in the past and this forgiveness
starts with learning to be honest with ourselves,to recognize the journey we have followed,

(15:29):
how we have transformed, and what we havelearned along the way.
For example, if you used to cheat on yourpartners in previous relationships, but now
know in your heart that you have truly changed,you have learned to respect people and you
are trying to build a life with someone specialto you, you should forgive yourself for the

(15:49):
past mistakes.
Maybe you were not mature enough that time,you did what you saw those around you and
in the media were doing, you chose temporarygratification over honouring the commitment
you made by agreeing to enter into a relationshipin the first place.
Forgive yourself because you didn’t knowbetter that time and acknowledge the changes

(16:10):
you went through.
7.
Live dangerouslyIn our final quote for this video, Nietzsche

says (16:20):
“For believe me! — the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness

and the greatest enjoyment is (16:26):
to live dangerously!
”Although Nietzsche’s life was not particularly
dangerous, it involved certain risks.
He put his career in jeopardy by leaving theUniversity of Basel where he had a respectable
position of Professor.
He then started to write books, attackingChristianity, although he came from a very

(16:51):
Christian family - his father was a priest- and he also distanced himself from past
friends like Richard Wagner when he couldno longer like his ideas and music.
Nietzsche understood very well that in orderto remain authentic he had to follow a dangerous
path with an insecure income and few relationships.

(17:13):
He emphasized the importance of not gettingstuck into a pattern, into a job position,
no matter how respectable it is, he understoodit is important to experiment with life in
order to find what works for you.
It does not matter how many people will bebeside you in the end, what matters is to
be yourself, to be authentic and to neverabandon who you are.

(17:39):
To implement this teaching in our life, weneed to stop trying to fit into social groups
to gain advantages.
If we don’t then we won’t live an authenticlife, we will always copy somebody else and
adopt ideas and concepts which we might noteven agree with at a deep level.
For example, if you are a part of a politicalparty and the leader does something you consider

(18:02):
wrong, you should leave said party even ifyou lose all the financial and political privileges
associated with it.
The principles you value are a part of yourself,the principles you value are a part of your
true nature, and you should not abandon whoyou are just to stay in-line with the people
around you.

(18:22):
It is worthy to risk your income and positionto preserve the authenticity of who you are.
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