What does it mean to be authentic?
Kneisha Sanders, Executive Coach (PCC)
Author of The Fruit of a Spirit-Led Leader ? DiSC Provider ? Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team Provider ? Speaker ? Corporate Trainer & Facilitator ? Leadership Development Strategist ? Business Owner ???? Let's Connect!
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the phrase that so many of us say, "be your authentic self," "show up authentically," and my question has become, how?
I have an 18-month-old, and while I was pregnant with her, I would say things like "well, I don't know her yet," "I'm looking forward to meeting her," and now with her being physically in my life over the past year to see her personality develop, I realized I'd known her all along. The same stretches she does and the emotions I felt while in my womb are the same now that she's physically interacting with me. Now, I realize she is her authentic self. She is so loving and a pure joy to be around. Her smile melts the hearts and worries of those she encounters. She is trusting, unbothered, not worried. She's natural and acts and responds out of instinct. This version of her is before she experiences pain caused by others, culture, and what others expect her to be or who she thinks she should copy.
Right now, she is truly living her "best" life. This moment is so precious and insightful to witness. Yet, at the same time, I recognize this will all be unconscious for her, a time of her life she won't remember, a time in which is unknown, and as she gets older, the version that gets flawed by who she admires, listens to, and rejections.?
These life changes will take her from her purest form. However, I also recognize that it is my role to remind her of who she is because this whole part of her life will be a blur, which was her most authentic form.
My point is, we too were once a baby, and all have had this same period to live authentically and unbiased, but that part of our life is a blur. So when you think about who you are authentically and how you show up, I want you to acknowledge your definition of authenticity. Is it your habits, is it your perception, is it your natural inclination?
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When we're developing in our mother's womb, we came out as an original copy. So who we are was already established, and now who we think we are is what we've experienced.?
So as we think about DE&I and all the labels and groupings that define it, I want us to think about if we stripped away all of that, what is left??
How do we get back to the baby version of who we are? A version of pure love and joy? To carry a smile that lets others know it'll all be ok.?
A default of uniqueness.?
An unconscious that allows us to be our authentic self indeed.?