First of all, I am in the middle of rebelling against so many people promoting power, crushing your goals, being a powerful go-getter, being excellent, self-improvement, even people promoting health and weight-loss. This may just be inspiring stuff to you, but I think there’s an undercurrent of aggression against the self going on here. We must love ourselves the way we are now! The Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield said, “If your compassion does not include yourself, then it is incomplete.” Even if there are ways you want to change, I truly believe it won’t happen without true self-acceptance happening first.
So why did I title this the “power” of authenticity? Because it is a personal power. If you are being your authentic self, and accepting and living that self, you have an inner power that is beautiful and meaningful just for itself. It will allow you to gain a lot, too, but just for a moment, stay still with the awareness of you being authentically you and wonderful in all the quirky, average, or weird ways that make you You.
Now we can talk about the other benefits, the things that relate to how others respond to an authentic you. What I have noticed is that most people respond really well to an authentic presence. They eat it up, they love it! They don’t want some perfect looking and sounding polished image of a person. They want to see and hear from real human beings with all our personality quirks and imperfections in how we look. Even our loved ones love us for who we are, not in spite of our faults, but often because of them! And when you speak your truth, there are others who really need to hear that right then. As Amy Poehler said, “Change the world by being yourself.”
How can you embody a more authentic self? Number one is stop comparing ourselves to others. Easier said than done, right? When you find yourself doing that comparing thing (and of course we always come up short), you can even love yourself for doing the comparing. Then focus on something unique or signature-you to love up. What are some examples? One thing that makes me weird is that I sing bizarre stuff in the house. It’s usually about what is happening right now, or loving made-up things to my dog. Also, sometimes I just say made-up blurts out loud. I would be terribly embarrassed to do these things in public. But if I start comparing myself to another video producer who makes beautiful videos and has a thriving business, I can focus on my innate, sometimes uncontrollable creativity that makes me who I am. What if you think you are quiet and boring? I have thought that about myself many times. I hardly ever have witty engaging conversation in groups. But I have other gifts that I share in more quiet ways. Or lazy? I was just thinking that about myself, lying down on my bed in the middle of the day looking out the window at a Japanese maple, when I had these thoughts about authenticity that made me get up and write.
So my message to you is: accept and love yourself for who you are. Show up in the world authentically. Feel your inner power. Share as much of your true self with others as feels safe and right to you. Be real. If you want to talk about this topic, please respond in my email, [email protected].
PS: At Personal Story Films we are interested in the authentic story of you and your business!
