Authenticity… Walking the talk.

A significant amount of the work that I do with my clients is to empower and encourage them to become more authentic, to learn to speak their truth and be themselves. In many ways I’m good at supporting my clients through that process because I spent much of my earlier life struggling to be authentic myself.

Most of the time people don’t choose to be inauthentic, it’s a largely unconscious process of protecting themselves from physical or emotion pain. People ‘learn’ to become inauthentic in an attempt to keep themselves safe. Said safety can literally be about keeping themselves free from physical harm, but more often than not it’s about keeping themselves free from emotional pain; free from potential mental / emotional abuse, free from the removal of positive-regard, free from the removal of love - after all, all we ever truly seek is love and a sense of belonging.

It’s important to recognise that inauthenticity exists for a good reason, sometimes people really are not safe from harm, or the removal of love. However, every time we are inauthentic it is soul destroying. The squashing of one’s soul eventually leads to anxiety, depression, physical illness, and a general sense of disconnection in life. The opposite is true, also.

More authenticity = more soul = more inner freedom and more love.

Most of us have different ‘masks’ or ‘hats’ that we wear, this is normal. The ‘hat’ that I have on when I’m at a festival is a different ‘hat’ to the one that I have on when I’m working with a new client, who might have PTSD, for example. What’s important is how conscious we are of that choice, and whether we wear our different hats from conscious place - from the heart - or from a place of fear.

Have I perfected the art of being authentic? Nope, I’m still learning. But I believe that the commitment to that process, and sharing in the way that I am here, is.

The truth is, over the years I have avoided sharing more of myself, and more content online, because I’ve been afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do myself justice. Despite a deep heart-felt desire to share and be seen, that’s simultaneously something i’ve been afraid of. Up until now that fear has gotten the better of me.

The more authentic we become, the harder it is to be inauthentic. It’s as if, when the process begins, there’s a force which continues to pull us in that direction. Regardless of whether that process feels comfortable, or not, it is truly liberating.

From now on I’m going to be more honest, more real, and share more - even if it’s imperfect, because I know that within that honesty and reality lies the source of true inner freedom and love.

Here’s to having a taste of my own medicine.

Here’s to choosing to walk the talk.