I can’t think of anything more tiring than trying to be perfect.

I was talking to one of my most inspiring friends the other night and she was saying that she worries about being too down-to-earth; too real.

I know that feeling. When I worked in PR, I was one of the few people in my agency who wore flat shoes, was bigger than a size 10 and didn’t have long hair. I felt too ‘real’ which translated into me eventually trying to morph into a proper PR person.

I grew my hair, I wore heels (badly) and half-heartedly joined a gym.

But nothing changed. I was still me. I still swore like a sailor, farted when I laughed too enthusiastically and continued to be awkwardly irreverent in professional situations.

That’s when I decided to say (characteristically), ‘fuck it, this is who I am, everyone else can just deal with it’.

And you know what? Nothing happened. In fact, I think I got better at my job. It turns out people really like being around happy people, respond to humour and, on some deep level, respect authenticity. It’s because by being real, you give other people permission to be real too.

It’s a powerful thing.

So, to my absolutely irrepressible friend Holly I say: become more yourself. Feed that wild, creative, hilarious spirit of yours. Make yourself bigger, not smaller. You are perfectly imperfect.