HOW TO BE YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF

Telling another how to be himself shouldn’t have been something we needed a talk about, but for the unfortunate ways we now live other people’s lives as our own without regard for our own identity. Imagine how beautiful life’s experiences would have been for all of us if only we were each allowed to be ourselves without any labeling, or prejudiced judgments whatsoever from doing that.

That every individual was born unique, and separate even from their closest kind is a fact most willingly accepts. The issue however, is having the courage to live that belief. I have shared my own story here about how I almost lost the path to my own personal terrain, because of my expressed fear at embracing my difference. Yet, for so many people out there, this is still their pain, something they haven’t overcome. It is for them I am writing this piece.

Sometimes, I am often lost in thoughts wondering how the same society that advises people about being themselves can hardly stand the one courageous enough to heed that advice. But why?

The talk about people embracing their differences can seem almost like nothing to you if you had been fortunate enough to be raised in an environment, or perhaps by parents who encouraged growth along the line of your uniqueness. Good for you! Not many people were this lucky. The majority had it otherwise. Reason it is a necessary call to action.

Discovering yourself in the first place shouldn’t have been necessary had we been born to truly be all we can be without the much interference from every corner. But, we may not truly be evolving without these interference of nature, nurture and all things around us. In fact, it is at the time we have come to the realization of wanting to truly be, first by the signs our soul’s already giving out to us through our feelings, emotions, and along with the many other intersections, that we can then begin the journey to finding more of who we truly are. So all those factors have been necessary in the end to who you are becoming.

How can you find self in a world of so much sameness?

Listen to your soul, and the intuitive voice from within.

This cannot be overemphasized. I consider it one of the greatest of all things pointing to who you are truly becoming. The reason being that your intuition is like the torchlight of your conscience, whose main goal is in guiding you. It can lead you to your true path if you are able to maximize its directions.

Spending more time intentionally listening to your soul is a great discovery path to your authentic self.

You may most likely miss out on hearing this voice if you do not show regard for its gentle touches because of its natural tendencies to not be pushy, or loud in its leading. Because nature does not toil with your freedom of choice. And so for this reason, you may find it easier to either ignore, or neglect intentionally. Yet, it is the key to your authentic self. Listen to your soul.

Since creation, everything you’d been intended for had already been placed like a seed inside of you, including your true self. You are then the one to acknowledge this seed, and then water it to growth. Like a farmer, part of your job role is to tender this plant called your authentic self in ways showing the dexterity of a good husbandman, whose fruit of labour is evident to the degree of your acceptance of self.

When I meet with someone who is finding it difficult to embrace his authenticity, I find myself in most cases redirecting him to listening to his heart; because it's always there. Never outside of you. If you wait to use only the external factors, or resources as the basis to finding yourself, you may most likely miss out on it.

For a long time, I was this way. I looked for opinions and assurances as a clue to finding out who I thought I was, or even becoming. During those times, I was like a puppet in the hand of her commander, whose any wrong moves could alter many other things. And it did, then. I have met many more people in similar direction now, and I fear for them not knowing the truth. That’s why this is being written.

When I made a complete U-turn to listening to what my soul was pointing out to me in the way I was feeling about myself, I became more aware of my own authenticity. A journey that I am still on. Gradually, I began to step up and embrace who I am.  Even though not perfectly done yet. But perfection isn't my drive; living my life as it's been designed is.

Although it is good to seek the opinions of mentors and leaders whom you think are already way ahead of you, and whose guides can in many ways act as a leading light to your authentic path, you should never as a result become like one without a mind of your own, either. Regardless of how sound these leaders may seem, they could never be better at knowing what’s most suitable to the one who's living that life; which is you. You cannot erase the role you must play at getting it right with your own life. Get to know you.

One thing you should note, however, is that it is not enough to just know yourself. So much courage is required to live out that self, thereafter. There are some who might have succeeded in the realization of who they are, having accepted themselves. But they haven’t the boldness to live that authentic lifestyle, for fear of what people might say about them.

While it’s important that you listen to your soul’s expression of who you are becoming, having the confidence to live it out is also of critical importance in this journey you wish to embark on. And something you must work at doing by all means. Reason I had talked about building self-confidence and a healthy self-esteem before this time.

To be your true self then, you’d need invest enough of your time in communion with self, as well as listening to what your desires from within are, and the things your soul is relating to you about what that self is becoming. It is a whole lot of an internal work that pays you more in the long run than whatever anyone else’s opinions are, regardless of their positions in your life. You must get to the point in your life where you trust your own intuitions, and decisions. That my friend, is the sign that you are beginning to take up the leadership of your own life. Which is a good thing. And one you'll really need in order to enable your authentic self button.

After all has been said, and done; be yourself.

To your evolving life,

Joy Iseki