To be authentic, you need to be able to stand up for yourself, for your life, for your relationships,
and for your future. If you are not for yourself, then you are against yourself.
If you want to be yourself, your real self, then practice the following strategies every day.
Always tell yourself the truth. In his book Authentic: How to be Yourself And Why it Matters,
Stephen Joseph writes, 'To be authentic, we need to be able to face up to the truth
about ourselves, no matter how unpleasant we might find it.'' If you respect yourself, others will
respect you. If you are not true to yourself, if you are not being honest with yourself,
you are not deceiving other people; you are deceiving yourself. And it is not good for your
growth and development. Because you can't help yourself. So if you want to move forward
in your life, be an authentic person, no matter what.
Always take responsibility for your life. It is your life. You can do whatever you want with it.
That includes taking responsibility for your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions. When it comes to you,
you are responsible for everything in your life. In the words of Stephen Joseph, 'Authentic people
take resposibility for for their choices in life.'' If you want to be successful, you must be the boss
of your life. If not, you will find it difficult to express your real self.
Do not follow the crowd. If you want to be different, you must do things differently. If you want
a different result, you must think differently. To do that, you must be able to stand on your own.
You must be able to live with yourself. Do not try to fit in. Instead of trying to fit in, why not try to fit out?
To quote Stephen, 'Authenticity requires you to be able to overcome our desires to fit in and be
part of the crowd.'' If you want to grow, don't work to be like other people, work to be like yourself.
Because you can never be like another person. So trying to do it is a total waste of your time.
Always pay attention to how you feel about yourself. In her book Now Go Out There and get curious, Mary Karr writes, 'Don't make the mistake of comparing your twisted-up insides to people's blow-dried outsides.'' That is what you should always do. Do not worry about what others are posting on
their social media accounts. Focus on your own life. Focus on how you want to achieve your dreams.
That is more important than comparing yourself to other people. Accodring to Stephen, 'Authenticity
requires that we are aware of what's going on in our bodies; that we are not only attentive to our
feelings and mindful of our thinking but to all that is happening within us.'' Do not ignore your internal self,
no matter what.
Your purpose is your why. If you don't have one, do not give up.
You can use the following lessons from Chris to find your own purpose
in your life.
'Unhappiness can lead to new beginnings.' If you are not happy with yourself, if you are not happy with your job, then maybe it is time to change something in your life. If you do not like what you are doing, find a way to make it better. If you can't make it better, then look for something that fits your personality. There are lots of them out there. But be patient with yourself. Because nothing great happens overnight.
'Adventure is for everyone.' Choose what you love to do and do it really well. Do not be scared to pursue your life. If it does not work, then do something else. And keep going.
'Everyone has a calling. Follow your passion.' Yes, you are right, Chris. It is better to do your thing and fail than it is to do other people's things and win. If you want to fail, follow other people's dreams. But if you want to grow yourself, if you want to succeed, you must do your own thing. Simply put, you must follow your dreams.
'Every day matters.' It is a blessing to be here. So do not waste your time on any worthless things. If you want to get anything done, you must manage your time really well.
'Not everyone needs to believe in your dreams, but you do.' Your dreams are yours alone. Even if no one believes in your dreams, they are still yours. And it is good that way. Why? So that you can focus on making them happen.
'Before beginning a quest, count the cost.' This is an important point to make. Before you jump into anything, it does not matter what it is, make sure that it is something that you can do. If not, you are setting yourself up for failure. And that is not good.
'We are motivated by progress and achievement.' People want to be around winners, not losers. If you are poor, nobody cares about you. But if you are rich, everybody cares about you.
'Misadventures produce confidence.' Yes, failures make you stronger, not weaker. When you fail, celebrate it. It is a great opportunity to learn more about yourself.
'As you make progress toward a small goal, the bigger vision expands.' It does not matter where you start. What matters is where you are going. It is okay to start small. But never forget where you are going.
You must be logged in to post a comment.