Choose authentically — from your own values, not from expectation
Make choices that reflect your actual values rather than the role others have assigned you.
Why it works
Sartre distinguishes authentic from inauthentic existence: authentic choices are made from one’s own evaluated values; inauthentic choices are made by conforming to a role, a class expectation, or what "one does." Authenticity is not self-expression in the casual sense; it is owning your choices as yours. The mechanism is values-based decision-making: when choices are grounded in explicit personal values, they are more consistent, more durable, and less prone to the regret that follows "I only did what was expected."
How to do it
- Before a significant decision, name the values it would express if made authentically.
- Distinguish those from what your role, family, or peer group expects.
- Make the decision from the former and own the tension with the latter.
- Notice whether the authentic choice is harder or different from the expected one — that gap is informative.
Evidence
Values-based decision-making is associated with greater long-term satisfaction and less regret in behavioral research. Self-determination theory’s "autonomous motivation" (acting from internalized values rather than external pressure) maps closely onto Sartrean authenticity. (observational)
The research on autonomous motivation and values-based choices is real; the Sartrean philosophical overlay is an extension. Authenticity in practice requires knowing your values clearly, which is itself a significant prior task.
Common mistake
Treating "authentic choice" as permission to do whatever you feel like in the moment — which Sartre explicitly rejects. Authenticity is owning a fully evaluated choice, not acting on impulse.
Practice this with IX Coach
7 days free, then $40/month (~$1.30/day).
More practices for Existentialism and Radical Choice
- Take seriously that you have no fixed nature
Stop treating your personality, role, or past as a given — you are always in the process of defining yourself.
- Spot bad faith in yourself
Notice when you are treating yourself as a thing determined by role, instinct, or expectation — and claim the choice.
- Take radical responsibility for your choices
Own every choice completely — including its unintended consequences and the unchosen conditions within which you chose.
- Sit with the anxiety of freedom
When the weight of choice produces vertigo, use it as a signal — not a problem to escape.
- Define yourself by actions, not intentions
You are not your intentions or your self-image — you are the accumulation of what you actually do.
Related concepts
- Absurdism and the Practice of Meaning Despite
Revolt, lucidity, and the art of building meaning in a world that won’t provide it
- The Examined Life
The Socratic method as a daily practice — questioning, consistency, and honest self-knowledge
- Man’s Search for Meaning, Made Practical
Logotherapy, the three sources of meaning, and the last of the human freedoms
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Made Practical
The core ACT processes, the mechanisms behind them, and an honest read on the evidence
- Values Clarification, Made Practical
Card sorts, ranking, and value-consistent action — with an honest read on the evidence