Get Real!

7 Steps to Greater Authenticity

► Connect with Yourself. Pay attention to how you feel in different situations, around certain people. Find what gives your heart the greatest joy. Then align with those people, places and things that reflect your highest truth. Don’t know what that is—your highest truth? Make its discovery a top priority for your life. It’s exhausting to be everything to everyone else; especially when you’re left behind. Be there for yourself!

► Speak-up! Learn to be a good communicator and speak your truth with passion and conviction. You don't have to start a fight or discount what may be real and true for others in order to be true to yourself. Go ahead . . . rock the boat, baby!

► Banish Fear. Come on, what's the worst that can happen—someone might think you're weird or disagree with you? So what! When you’re living your highest truth, you really don’t care. Dare to be different.

► Suspend Judgment; Be the Observer. When we focus on improving ourselves we have little time to criticize others or worry about how they might perceive us. Monitor your thoughts and clean up the messy parts. Lose the negative self-talk. Learn to be your own best friend. Everything else will take care of itself.

► Just Say "No!" When asked to participate in or attend an event, check-in with yourself: Do you really want to go there or do that? Only commit to those activities and associations that are meaningful to you. There are hundreds of ways to get involved and show you care. Be selective. Cultivate the art of saying "No."

► Divorce Yourself of Guilt. Don't let this energy vampire bleed you dry! Either use guilt constructively to make needed changes in your life or lose it all together. When you connect with others authentically—being true to yourself in the process—what do you have to feel guilty about?

► Drop the Mask. Not everyone has to like you or approve of your choices. As my colleague once said, “If everybody likes you, then you probably aren’t doing your job!” Be yourself, even if others disapprove. There’s beauty in authentic self-expression.

Remember, authenticity is next to perfection—little if anything can shake its foundation. Get real!