How to be the highest expression of yourself

- On the journey to finding more meaning, we're often taught to look outside of ourselves, whether that's goals, achievements, plans, or money, it's always somewhere out there. But actually, it's right where you are, because it's you. As psychologist Dr. Lauren Hazzouri says, "You are your purpose." It starts with you because it is you. The more yourself you can be the easier finding your way to meaning will also be. While be you sounds like a cheery poster in a kid's classroom, it's actually imperative that you figure out what that means for you. Because so often we're trying to fit the mold of what we think we should be. But consider molds for a moment. They're cold, hard limits that make us less of who we really are, and the easiest way to get lost is by blending in. If you're not actively coming back to yourself to who you really are and all of your desires and beliefs, personality quirks, and dreams, and traits, the right opportunities that align with your purpose can't find you. Believe it or not, this correlation between living authentically correlates to greater life satisfaction. In a study conducted by Yona Kifer and colleagues at Tel Aviv University, two groups were assigned to remember and write about situations, one where they were authentic, and the other group recalled and wrote about a situation that they were inauthentic. Then, immediately after each person completed a test to measure their present happiness. The group that recalled a time that they were feeling authentic, they rated feeling happier. So if we feel that way when we're recalling a situation, imagine how it feels to actually be living all of your days that way. To quote one of my long-time mentors Tiffany Dufu, "Purpose is simply commitment inspired by experience." To which I'd add, the more that experience is an authentic one, the more meaningful that it's going to be. To figure out what the highest expression of yourself looks like, examine all the places that you've told yourself to change in order to succeed, then reverse that. Don't change them. And if you can magnify those things. For example, a friend of mine was always told she's too social. So, she spent years trying to be less social, less talkative, less out and about, but what happened when she decided to just be herself? She had the courage and the support to start her own event production company, literally making money to bring people together to be social. It was extension of who she was all along. You can do the same, if you soften into the qualities that make you the most you. Try to melt away some of the I should, or I can't, and simply follow the highest expression of who you are.