In our screen-obsessed world, it can feel risky to be yourself. But the rewards are worth it. We all want to fit in, be liked, and be accepted by other human beings. The way we present ourselves on social media or in our daily interactions has become a mere presentation of who we think we should be and what we think we should be doing. This doesn’t reflect who we are on the inside; it’s just a mask we’ve been wearing. So how do you take off that mask and start living an authentic life?
Why is it so hard to be yourself?
Want to let your true self shine? Then try these 7 authentic strategies.
Observe Yourself Objectively
To know yourself, be an observer of yourself. Watch your behavior, the way you act around others, and how you respond to challenges. Keep a record of what feels authentic and what feels inauthentic. By identifying which responses are just for show and which are from your true self, you can begin to notice the falseness and begin to better see the truth underneath.
Examine family belief systems
If you examine the origins of your behaviors, you may learn a lot about your true self. Think about times when you have stopped being yourself. These episodes could be linked to a limiting belief that you acquired as a child. Think about how these experiences led you to stop being your authentic self and instead adopt some other way of existing in this world.
Identify discrepancies
Become aware of inconsistencies between your behavior and what you believe to be true. If you catch yourself making a remark that makes you cringe, ask yourself whether the ideas behind the words are really your own or were instilled in you by someone else.
Awareness of your Authentic Self is the first step to living a life true to yourself. But in order to achieve that level of self-awareness, you must first acknowledge what is true for you now and be honest with yourself about it.
Examine your doubts
When exploring your Authentic Self, you may feel unsure of how to go about it. You may question whether it’s even possible to change what feels so deeply ingrained within you or is invisible to you. So keep an eye out for feelings of doubt. Doubts can be like breadcrumbs that lead you to your Authentic Self. If you doubt something, a thought, behavior, emotion, experience; reflect for a moment to find whatever is underneath. Is your Authentic self trying to tell you to “stop it”?
How to Live Authentically in an Inauthentic age: By Gordon Marino
Face your fears
Our comfort level with the familiar can make us resistant to change. When something new comes along, we often resist it at first because it is unfamiliar. Examining your inner core beliefs can be like exploring a foreign landscape you are unfamiliar with.
Our true selves are often afraid, sad and angry. When we were young, we were hurt by people or events that caused us pain. To protect ourselves from further hurt, we hide these painful memories in our unconscious mind. However, the difficult secrets that we try to bury are what make us who we really are. Courageously explore the truth of what makes you who you are by identifying and experiencing your buried emotions. Then accept yourself just as you are and let go of those memories so that your Authentic Self can finally be free.
Explore your values
Living our values is the best way to live more authentically. The trouble is that we sometimes have so far to go, we don’t even know what our values are. Explore your values and figure out some ways to start living them.
Love Yourself
It take self-love for our Authentic Selves to emerge. Embedding more love and compassion within yourself is helpful. One way to increase your self-love is to set aside some time to take numerous deep breaths each day. You can add this into an existing mediation practice if you like.
Slowly deepen your breathing and when you are feeling fully relaxed and receptive, call love to yourself from your environment. Imaging each breath infused with loving energy. Whether as balls of energy, or bursts, or rays of light and love, invite love to enter your body via your breath. Draw love into you lungs and disperse it throughout your body, or send it directly to your Authentic Self. Keep breathing consciously until you feel the lightening and lifting energy of these “love breaths”.
Once you are filled with healing love, share some of it with friends or loved ones. Sending love to others tends to expand the love within!
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