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How to Live an Authentic Life 
Authenticity; the ability to be completely true to yourself. I think it is one of the hardest things to achieve in a lifetime. I always admire people who have taken the time to get to know themselves, their personality, their strengths, weaknesses and above all have become their own best friend. This quality of self awareness is hard to achieve through the social noise of high expectations, conformity and a distaste for the unconventional. I feel the more we advance the greater our loss of individuality. It is a courageous person who remains true to themselves no matter the circumstance.
When someone masters authenticity, it pours through their very being. They play centre stage of their life and love it. They seek out the best, think positively, support others to find their own potential and acknowledge the game of life in full glory of the ups and downs.
We can all benefit from getting to know ourselves better. As we develop a greater sense of authenticity, our lives become more empowered and aligned with our purpose. Happiness fills our life because we place fewer judgements, hidden agendas or ridiculous expectations on ourselves. We begin to acknowledge, accept and finally love ourselves, warts and all!
Getting to the core of your authenticity isn’t necessarily easy or comfortable but here are some strategies to get you started:
- Live your own life. Wouldn’t it be shame if you got to the end of your life and realised you hadn’t fulfilled your own dreams but rather the dreams of someone else? Get clear on any expectations or agendas which don’t belong to you. Question why are you in your career/apartment/hobby/etc? How did you get there? Who has been influential in your life and are you happy with their input? Question all aspects of your life and notice any emotions or thoughts which arise.
- Get clear on who you are, how you want to live and what you want to do with this lifetime? Your values, goals and dreams are completely unique to you and only you. Finding these answers can possibly take a lifetime, so don’t be afraid to change your mind or make a mistake or two. It’s far more important to enjoy the journey no matter what unfolds.
- Be persistent. Don’t give up. Keep building on your dreams, whatever they are. Imagine your dreams as seeds under the ground. Even though you can’t see them, you know they are there and you have to water them if you want it to grow. Thomas Edison racked up over 10,000 failed experiments before he invented the light bulb. Or rather he found 10,000 ways not to light a light bulb. Be persistent, but also be flexible. Flexibility allows us to learn from our mistakes, and to learn from others. Persistence means to just keep at it and flexibility means to embrace change when necessary.
- Do what you passionately love. Get really clear on what it is that you passionately love doing. When you live your life in accordance with your passion, your being starts to come into alignment with your authentic self. Get clear on what defines who you are by your passion or authentic self, not by your ego. If you live within the space of doing what you love then happiness will be knocking at your door.
- Get your needs met once and for all. What are your unique needs that need to be met for you to have a truly fulfilled life? We all have needs and can feel the negative consequences of not having these met. Examine your needs once and for all, address them, feel empowered from them and start enjoying your need-free life.
- Live in alignment with your values. Values are at the heart of our feelings, behaviour and judgement. Once we have clarity over our values, we strengthen our trust in ourselves and feed our inner confidence and self esteem. It is important to understand our top values in order to make the best decisions for ourselves, understand who we really are, act authentically and bring our life in to alignment with our values. They are the sign posts at any cross roads in our life.
© Claire Hall
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