This is my purely authentic friend, Cidney. If you get the New Girl Weekly you know all about this pic!
The hard truth of authenticity
Today I’m going to be on my friend Amanda’s “Feel Amazing Naked” Podcast and we’re going to talk about super vulnerable topics. Her show is only a little bit about feeling amazing physically naked, but none the less I hope you’ll listen in when it airs because we’re going to talk about feeling amazing mind & spirit naked.
Like I said before, she’s my friend so opening up will be pretty natural – until I remember there are gazillions of people who subscribe and listen to her show!
What will they think of me?
That I’m a know-it-all. That my perspective is BS. That my rainbows and butterflies shtick is annoying as all heck.
It’s possible. But it’s mostly in my head. Those are the fears I created on my own. I don’t truly know what other people think of me and to be frank, it’s none of my business!
The crazy thing is, I (and I bet you do too) let these self-manifested fears (that really have no repercussions except for our own self-destruction) take over our lives! So what if the internet troll or even my friend doesn’t agree with what I have to say. I’m sure I’ll put my foot in my mouth a few times and something will come out wrong, I’m not living my life for them. They don’t get to reap the reward or repercussion for what I create. Whether they are behind or against me makes no difference in what I can become if I have the courage to be authentic.
Authenticity isn’t just good for your own wellbeing, it’s good for the world.
Only when we’re authentic can we truly connect with others. Living and exploring and sharing our truest intentions is the most fulfilling part of the human experience.
We are each “wonderfully made” with our own set of strengths and gifts. I believe if we all were to live authentically with ourselves we would all fit together like a magnificent puzzle. Each of our strengths filling in the gaps of another’s weakness. There are things I am good at, but there are things I am definitely not cut out for (i.e.like politics or crafting).
Please share your gift and don’t hold back just because someone might not understand it. Your gift was never intended for that person. It was intended for someone – or even many people – who will live a sweeter life because of you.
Being authentic is hard.
As much as I preach that other people’s opinions are none of our business, we still care. If we didn’t care we’d be too disconnected to do anything meaningful.
Showing more sides of myself has been a necessary part of letting people into my world and growing an audience for everything I want to share with as many people as possible. I believe the book I’m writing will help people heal trauma and live a life better than before. In fact, I know it in the depths of my gut and soul. I feel as though it is even my duty to see it through.
My authenticity comes from a place of purpose and I think that’s the same for everyone. Having purpose helps me stay the course and not get caught up in the fame game. You guys, ego is real and it’s not your friend. Ego will pull you down into the comparison trap and many times people find themselves there, in survival mode, pulling others down so they can climb their way out. But it’s a vicious cycle that social media has made especially easy to fall into.
Social Media is not the enemy.
I used to think it was. I even deleted Facebook almost 4 years ago this month because it felt like a fake cop-out for real friendship and communication. Then I got brain cancer and Bruce was overwhelmed with DMs from my friends. I brought Facebook back and beautiful connections have happened because of it.
Instagram piqued my interest because I’m a visual person and even though there’s a bunch of fools trying to get instafamous, there is also a lot of value to be found (and let’s not forget Esther the Wonder Pig, Tuna Melts My Heart, or The Kangaroo Sanctuary for a dose of adorable-ness).
Don’t get me wrong, I am not endorsing the black hole scroll that all of us with social media have experienced. I’m just saying that the more of us who have the courage to be authentic instead of attention-seeking on social media, the more power we have to make meaningful connections that actually make the world a better place.
Find courage in this.
No one is going to remember the critics, they’ll only remember the person who stood up against them and did something great.
