The Slow Process of Editing Ourselves

As humans, our greatest flaw is believing we are flawed.

The following excerpt is from a chapter in my upcoming book—made for the wanderers, the misfits, the ones who’ve felt the pressure to shrink, polish, and perform. It’s about unlearning who the world told you to be—and returning to who you truly are.

The official title will be announced soon, but for now, here’s a glimpse of what’s coming.

As humans, our greatest flaw is believing we are flawed. We spend our entire lives trying to fix ourselves when, in reality, the goal should be to become more of who we are—not less. Your job is not to change yourself, but to strip away everything inauthentic until only the real, unfiltered You remains. No one can improve you. You are perfect, exactly as you are. The only thing standing in your way is the belief that you should be anything other than You.

From the moment we’re born, we are shaped by expectations—not just from parents and teachers, but from culture, media, and the omnipresent force of societal norms. We learn early that certain traits are rewarded while others are met with resistance. So begins the slow, unconscious process of editing ourselves—smoothing out the unpolished edges, hiding the parts that don’t fit, and adopting behaviors that seem to grant approval. We emulate, we conform, and in doing so, we lose sight of who we actually are.

But why? Why do we feel this need to become something other than ourselves? It all boils down to fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of standing out. Fear of not being enough. Fear of being too much. Fear of being different in a world that praises sameness. The unspoken rule that to belong, we must be like everyone else. But what does that really accomplish? Is this how we want to evolve as human beings? By mass-producing identical versions of ourselves? By stripping away the very things that make us unique?

Constantly, we're trying to fix what isn't broken, and in doing so, we become broken.

This is the great illusion—the belief that our worth lies in our ability to blend in rather than stand out. The irony, of course, is that every breakthrough, every revolution, every step forward in human history that we can analyze in retrospect has come from those who refused to conform. The ones who dared to be different, to think differently, to live in a way that made others uncomfortable. In hindsight, we celebrate them, even if we can’t do so from the narrowed vision of modernity. You are who you are for a reason. The world doesn’t need another imitation; it needs your voice, your vision, your unrepeatable essence.

It’s time to stop doubting your greatness. To see yourself not as flawed, but as a deliberate, unfolding expression of the universe itself. What if, instead of trying to force ourselves into the mold of “normal,” we asked more meaningful questions, like…

Why am I this way?

What is the universe trying to accomplish through me?

What possibilities open up when I embrace my truest self, unburdened by the weight of societal expectations?

When we stop resisting who we are, when we stop apologizing for our differences and instead lean into them, we step into our fullest power.

This is evolution. This is progress!

If this resonated with you, I invite you to explore my other books—written from forests, backroads, and quiet places the world often forgets. They’re not instruction manuals. They’re reminders. Of freedom. Of stillness. Of the life that’s waiting when you finally choose to live on your own terms. You can find them here: scottstillmanblog.com 📚