Will the Real You Please Stand Up?
Without the filters (physical and verbal), without the makeup. One take, no do-overs.
We have editors rewriting our work, VAs answering our emails, and AI creating our content. We have makeup, filters, and retakes. But who are we, really? And who are we presenting to our clients and the world?
While all of these masks may make us look good on the outside… I want to see who I’m really working with. Who have I hired? Who has hired me? When we get down to the bare essence of who you are, we can get down to the essence of how you are to your clients.
Who are you when no one’s watching?
During my half century on this planet, I’ve been a lot of different things: daughter, sister, graphic designer, accountant, traveler, business owner, mentor, mother, author, teacher, coach, and countless other nouns.
Each person I met saw me in a different way. Sometimes, I tried to become something that just didn’t fit me, so that I could fit into that community.
There were times in my life that I put aside my interests because they didn’t fit with the persona I was trying to be (for someone else). My interests and hobbies went by the wayside, sometimes books and tools were thrown or given away, and sometimes (thankfully) only packed away in a box.
Each time I did that, I’d eventually reach a point of regret (sometimes after years of trying to be something else). I’d hit a major turning point in life and would immediately return back to my “comfort zone”, the real me. Out would come the books, spinning wheel, and crystals. Out would come the clothes I was most comfortable in. Out would come the (sometimes) foul language. But, gone would be the masks.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that to be happiest, and to share my gifts with others most effectively, I need to just be me, all the time. It’s a hard lesson to learn, and I hope in my writing and speaking, I can help others realize this sooner than I did.
Trends and fads will come and go, jobs and people will as well. But you are a constant in the equation. This doesn’t mean that you won’t grow or shift (omg, then we’re getting into quantum equations I think, and that’s totally not my strength) but who you are at your core is constant. Don’t let that go, no matter who doesn’t understand it or who it doesn’t impress.
Your authentic self is the one that is vulnerable. It’s also the one that’s most powerful. It’s the one that instinctively responds the same way regardless of the situation and knows what is a good fit and what isn’t.
Allowing your authentic self, quirks and all, to take center stage all the time, you will feel more within your body, hear more of the small voices in your mind. You will be more open to the messages your intuition is trying to send you on a regular basis.
And this is the basis for intuitive living.