I think we’ve all heard this question at least once. It’s usually said with admiration, a kind of awe reserved for people we look up to. It’s a simple question that carries a weight we don’t always acknowledge. Behind that admiration, there’s often an unspoken longing, a belief that we should aspire to be someone else to feel whole. If we can figure out their secret, we too can have what they have. But the truth is, the answer to that question is already within us. The secret isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about being ourselves—authentically, fully, and unapologetically.
“You need to try to break free from those in order to be really happy with yourself.”
When I read this line from Gresson Peiffer’s book, Sharing My Light and Healing Energy, it felt like something inside me clicked. The weight of expectations, those placed on us by society, family, and even ourselves, can be suffocating. We grow up learning who we are supposed to be before we even have the chance to figure it out for ourselves. We are told to be successful, to be kind but not too soft, to be ambitious but not selfish, to be confident but not arrogant. It’s an exhausting balancing act that often leaves us feeling like we are never enough.
The book constantly reminds us that we don’t have to live trapped by these expectations. Real happiness doesn’t come from fitting into someone else’s idea of who we should be—it comes from embracing who we already are. And this means accepting ourselves in our entirety—the good, the flawed, and the still-growing.
One of the most powerful takeaways from Sharing My Light and Healing Energy is that self-love should not be conditional; it comes from self-acceptance. Often, we attach our worth to external achievements, thinking that once we reach a certain milestone or once we become a certain kind of person, we will finally deserve to love ourselves. But Sharing My Light and Healing Energy reminds us that self-acceptance isn’t something you earn—it’s something you decide.
Peiffer writes about embracing every part of yourself, even the ones you’re tempted to hide. It’s about acknowledging your flaws and imperfections, not as things that need to be erased, but as essential pieces of who you are. It’s about accepting your mistakes, the people who have hurt you, and those you may have hurt along the way. Because self-love isn’t just about celebrating your strengths, it’s about making peace with your past and your imperfections, too.
Reading the book feels like having a conversation with someone who understands the weight you carry—the doubts, the insecurities, the longing to be someone else just to feel worthy. And instead of offering a perfect solution, Sharing My Light and Healing Energy reminds us that the path to self-acceptance isn’t a straight road. It’s messy, nonlinear, and sometimes painful. But it’s worth it. Because in the end, we all have our own light to share. It may not look like someone else’s. It may not shine as brightly or effortlessly as we wish. But that doesn’t make it any less beautiful. We don’t have to be anyone else to be enough. We already are.
So maybe the next time someone asks, “How to be you?”, the answer isn’t about following someone else’s footsteps or adopting someone else’s glow. Maybe the real answer is: You don’t have to be me. You just have to be you.
And Sharing My Light & Healing Energy is the book that helps you believe that’s enough.
By: Aeris Ricaplaza