Being Authentic
Human beings are highly sensitive to truth. We just seem to know when something isn’t right, or if someone isn’t being entirely honest or if something doesn’t resonate, way before we have intellectualized it. It’s the first ‘Blink’ principle. We know something before we have completely understood it. If we are all highly sensitive to truth, given everything consists of energy (when an atom is broken down 99.9% of it is made up of nothing other than energy. This energy is contained in every atom, so a steel bar has energy as does that tree in your backyard) then this same energy must connect us in some way. And if we’re connected, it stands to reason that we are constantly picking up on what’s authentic and what resonates from others.
'Authenticity' is what it says on the tin - it's real and it's genuine. So when you translate this to being authentic and living an authentic life, it's really about:
- Being clear and following what really matters to you
- Being who you are without apology
- Being real
- Doing things that bring you happiness
- Not apologising for who you are
- Honouring who you are at your core
Authenticity encompasses every aspect of life from finding and following your life purpose to doing things because you ‘want’ to do it, not because you feel obliged. I know that when we are authentic, a certain resonance to our life is created. We start flowing with the grain rather than going against it, and life takes on a certain ease and grace. It feels good to be true to who you are and what you believe!
Self-awareness and self-knowledge are key in being authentic as if you don’t know who you are, how can you be authentic? Being authentic is not merely an intellectual concept - it's about taking inspired action every day where you are living your life in alignment with what you believe. This could be learning to speak up and saying what you really feel. It could be saying no to those things that you either don't want to do or don't agree with. It could be changing your life in some way. It could be doing something that you're always wanted to do.
I read somewhere once that being authentic is about ‘being who you are’ but it's more than this. Being authentic takes a certain amount of courage – courage to step beyond the habits that lock us in to a certain way of being and courage to step beyond what is deemed ‘normal’ in our society. It's a gutsy path to be authentic especially if we are used to a life of pleasing others.
Being authentic is the opposite to conformity - which is copying everyone else. People are drawn to authentic people. What they see in you they sense in themselves. If there's one thing in your life where you are not being authentic, then change it. Live a life that is true to you and inspire others to do the same.