Do you accept the invitation to live authentically from this moment onwards?
You may not realize it, but you are constantly being invited to be your true self. Unfortunately, too many people wear a mask and hide their true identity in order to please others.
Living in alignment with your true self is a true measure of one's courage and strength. Being unapologetically yourself is the ultimate form of freedom.
Life is too short to be someone whom you are not. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.”
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Are you living a life that you chose?
As you reflect upon this question, maybe you aren't sure, maybe it's something that has never crossed your mind, or maybe you feel ashamed because you know in your heart that you are living a life that chose you. Whatever emotion is coming up for you, honor it. You have the power to change your story. If you don't like how this narrative is playing out, you can re-write it.
Life has a way of passing us by, which is why it's important to continually engage in a process of self-reflection. Don't silence your inner voice. It's there for a reason.
Speaking your truth and listening to your intuition will always serve you. Think of it as your inner GPS. It is there to protect you and take you where you want to go in life. If you choose to ignore your intuition, you risk living someone else's life. Doing so will only leave you feeling defeated and lost.
In one study, researchers found that people who scored higher on a measure of authentic living reported greater happiness, more positive emotions, and higher self-esteem than people who reported being less authentic.
If the research shows that being authentic leads to a better life, then why is it that so many people struggle to live authentically? It takes courage to stay true to your values and beliefs in a world that is constantly trying to make you be someone that you are not. You don't need permission from anyone to be you. To repeat, never allow anyone to have that much power over you or your life.
One of my favorite poems is called, “The Invitation,” written by Canadian author, Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
This poem best reflects the value of recognizing the beauty that lies within you. Oriah's words present a powerful challenge to all of us to live passionately and to not settle for anything less than an epic existence. Check out the poem below.
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes.'
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
The invitation is still open. Are you ready to live life more fully?
Now is the time to remember who you really are before your thinking mind told you who you should be. Truly, when you connect with the authenticity that lies deep within you, you carve out your own destiny, instead of someone else's. Don't sit on the fence and wait for your life to happen to you.
Nobody wants to live a life of regret. Don't hope that your dreams will come alive. Rather, bring life into them. Be amongst the few who are fearless enough to reclaim their power and live their truth. One point often overlooked is that being authentic is a choice that you have to make every single day. Trust me when I say that the payoff is well worth it.
One of the most influential entrepreneurs of our time spoke to the importance of speaking to our inner voice. In an address to students graduating from Stanford University he said:
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And, most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
It must be remembered that you only have one life. Make it count.