There comes a time when you will question whether or not you are living an authentic life, one that is genuine to your nature.
The symptoms are easy to spot: physical ailments such as headaches and migraines, back pain, sometimes ulcers and fatigue. One major symptom is mental and emotional stress.
The stress you feel is a result of acting in opposition to your values.
The simple solution is to get in touch with your authentic self.
Sometimes, we forget our authentic self
The problem is that sometimes you may have forgotten who you are, your values and your beliefs.
Recently, I found myself getting short and angry with people at work. This is not good for everyone including myself even though my reasoning was the most correct one. My behaviour bothered me a great deal and I put some people in a bad light. This never my intention. I have, in the past two years, tried to work things through so that both parties win. I was not acting in congruence with my belief that two parties in an argument could walk away with their dignities intact. My ideal outcome is that we could come to a compromise with everyone having an input into the discussion. Now, I choose to go into a meeting with myself a bit detached from the conversation.
I have also realized that I need to have some alone time every day to rejuvenate my introvert nature. This could be with dancing, reading, and some journaling. Having this time for myself is necessary for me to be objective during my interactions with others.
A simple exercise to get in touch with one aspect of your authentic self
If you are not living out your authentic life, then set a time and place to do the following exercise. Do the exercise in a place that makes you feel comfortable.
Write down why you are out of balance, the actions you have taken that are not in congruence with yourself, the values you have betrayed and the beliefs that caused you to act the way you did. After this, write down what your ideal emotional and mental responses would be and what actions you will take to act in alignment with your values and new beliefs.
This activity should take one to two hours. This is not time spent but time invested into reflecting on your authentic self and bringing your actions in alignment with your authentic self. This is time well invested with a high return on investment for you.
