If I'm being honest, I've been struggling with this one a bit... I think it's because I'm actually not that good at ‘Sharing Myself’. Maybe it's the English in me, we’re a reserved bunch…. How well do you know yourself?
In today's busy and demanding world, it's easy to lose your way, get swept along with the tide of life and end up not really feel comfortable with what you're doing or who you've become.Then it might be time to look at asking yourself these 3 questions.
• How well do you know yourself?
• Can you always be yourself?
• Are you comfortable at sharing yourself
It's a journey, I've been on, but I know how powerful it is so I really wanted to share it with you.
Feeling lost, like a ship without sails? About 10 years ago, I found myself on a path that didn't feel right, that didn't fulfil me and that just wasn't 'me'. I owned a business, but I wasn't in love with it. I felt like I'd kind of lost my inner compass. I struggled to make decisions that I really believed in and lost some direction for the first time in my life. I realised I was letting others make decisions, and not steering my own ship. If you've ever experienced this, you'll know the feeling.
When you Know Yourself, you can make choices around what you want and what matters most in your life. You feel an inner peace and don't rely on external influences to make you happy, or people to make decisions for you. You have an inner strength that helps manage day to day situations with greater calm.
Feeling at odds with your life? If you don’t really know yourself, you’re probably going to struggle being yourself around others. If you’re not being yourself, there’s this kind of nagging feeling that tells you you’re not being true. You’re out of integrity with yourself, you’re doing one thing and thinking or saying another. Maybe you’re struggling with your job, your career, your lifestyle or your relationships. You’ve got things to say but don’t know how to say it, you’ve got things you want to do but are too afraid to try.
When you can Be Yourself, you can spend your time doing what matters most towards creating a life that you love. You make your own decisions without fear of judgement, embarassment or doubts. You don’t have to worry about what people think, or say or do, because you are just being you.
Not being you, is the worse thing you can do. Suppressing yourself and your real thoughts and emotions can eventually lead to overwhelming dissatisfaction and resentment. If you’re constantly out in the world with a false persona, your real you is going to get frustrated and eventually break out! I’ve seen super calm people blow their top because they don’t know how to express their feelings. They bottle it up until one day it overloads and explodes!
This is where it gets really exciting. When you can truly share yourself, who you really are, every minute of every day, you are living in complete authenticity. You can express yourself, enjoy yourself and give your best self to the world without fear our doubt. You can create anything you want and deliver it with confidence.
Sure-fire signs that you're not letting yourself, be yourself (I know because I’ve done them)
If you...
• Avoid making decisions, let others guide and you follow along
• Worry about what others think of you, or would say or do if you share what you really thought.
• Withdraw go quiet and let others do the talking
• Are constantly doubting what you're doing, but not really knowing how to change
• Change your mind a lot, or at least find it difficult to choose a path (even in a restaurant!)
• Let the voices in your head take over and talk you out of doing things
Here's some simple things you can do right now to get you on the path to self-discovery
1. Spend the time to listen. Knowing yourself comes from listening, being still, going within. Time to reflect and allow yourself to hear your own thoughts. Quieten the mind and close out the hum drum of life and other people’s voices enough to be able to hear your own.
2. Make time to do the things that bring you back to you. Take note of the things you do that bring you back on track. A walk in nature, exercise, time to yourself to read or rest...
3. Follow your instincts. Start allowing some snippets of time to follow your ideas.
4. Express your emotions. Begin by writing in a journal. Writing is a safe outlet, be honest with yourself and get thoughts out on paper.
5. Enjoy a creative pursuit. Enjoy some creative expression. Art, drawing, or painting... just let loose and let out some pent up emotions.
6. Book a holiday! Time out to reflect and renew, give yourself space to step back and see your life from a much bigger perspective.
Being yourself is probably the most important goal you could have for 2015. If you've read anything that resonates with you and you'd like to explore more, all of our programs, events and adventures are created to help you take this path of self-discovery in a fun and easy way.