5 Ways to Embody Authenticity and live an Authentic Life

“To be authentic, we must cultivate the courage to be imperfect — and vulnerable. We have to believe that we are fundamentally worthy of love and acceptance, just as we are. I’ve learned that there is no better way to invite more grace, gratitude and joy into our lives than by mindfully practicing authenticity.”— Brené Brown

Authenticity is about being in the moment, forgetting the past and not worrying about the future.

Authenticity is about living in the moment with conviction and confidence about who you are.

Authenticity is about staying true to yourself, not trying to convince anyone or change their views.

Authenticity is about presence.

Authenticity is defined as “not false or copied; genuine; real.” And is about “representing one’s true nature or beliefs; true to oneself or to the person identified.”

What many of us might realize is, when we’re looking to build relationships in life we want to find people who are honest and trustworthy. In order to seek this out in others, we first need to be open-minded and receptive regarding our own needs, expressions, experiences and interactions. We need to be open to sense who we are. This is crucial in order to fully embrace and welcome the personality of an authentic person in our lives. Because they will never try to restrict themselves based on norms and rules. They will never try to change the way they are in order to fit in. They are who they are.

I’ve been always feeling attracted to people who are carrying themselves in an authentic way. I’ve been always appreciating their honesty and I could feel more secure around them rather than people who are always polite or terribly nice. The most authentic people I know, whom I chose to have a close relationship with, have an interesting combination of characteristics in common: They are extremely honest about themselves, meaning they don’t hide there temper, and at the same time they fully accept others, just the way they are, without any judgement.

As a teacher, healer and mentor I have observed many people coming to my classes or working with me privately. Through my experience I understood that it needs courage and strength for someone to be able to be themselves and carry themselves in an authentic way. Our world is constantly judgmental, imposing a number of rules, violating free will and restricting people’s true expression, while creating a distorted version of who people truly are. Sometimes there is no choice for many, but on the other hand there are those who fight for the truth and choose to be authentic. Thus it would be interesting to dissect the characteristics of these people and implement these characteristics as practices in our life in order to have a more authentic experience:

1. Be Yourself

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde

You might have listened to this advice several times in the past, but shifting this idea to praxis is a totally different process. When we are honoring ourselves we are honest to self and others, we describe the truth about our feelings, wants and needs and we are fearless to express all kinds of emotions and feelings as they occur, always with respect towards self and others. Being yourself means to be true to yourself, a fundamental practice that empowers you to live a life of integrity. Authentic people are individuals who don’t just “talk the talk,” they also “walk the walk.”, which means their word has a meaning and it is grounded by action, that can benefit themselves and others.

2. Sense your Inner Landscape

“Authenticity is very important — be true to one’s self.” — Laila Ali

Authentic people can sense and feel their innermost needs, desires and dreams. They are able to generate strength from within and emit it outward while empowering their lives and the lives of others. Authentic people are conscious about their thoughts and how they can affect their lives. Therefore they choose to create their life and external experiences by choosing their inner reality first. Responding to this phenomenon in an authentic manner means to know what you want and this requires self-awareness. Being mindful about your thoughts and emotions and knowing the fluctuations of your inner landscape is the key to create an authentic environment also in the external.

3. Treat people with Respect

“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” — Henry James

We all feel terrible when we are disrespected. This point is not about good manners or to tell you to bypass any negative feelings that you might have. Experiencing any kind of emotions is a natural human characteristic, but we need to understand that feeling a lack of resonance with specific people is different from feeling emotions against them. By understanding resonance we are able to accept the self and others and we are able to co-exist. Instead of being rude or pretending that we like them, we choose to accept their existence but in honesty, which means to be in the proximity we want. An authentic person who knows what they feel and they also have discernment about the resonance between themselves and others, they don’t need to fight or flight, they behave in a respectful manner instead, simply because they have no need to validate or justify themselves, their choice or the way they feel.

4. Live in the moment

“What day is it?”

It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.

My favorite day,” said Pooh.” — A.A. Milne

Living in the moment without worrying constantly or being concerned for needless matters is a real virtue. How many people do you know who can truly embody this? Living in the moment means to fully embrace the now and to concentrate on exactly what’s happening in your life at that precise moment. It is the ability to recenter yourself and realign with what really matters, which is nothing else than this present moment, the Self. This daily practice demands that we remove clutter from our lives, eliminate distractions and live our best in the moment, not necessarily by hunting the good and pushing away the bad, but by embracing everything that flows, without experiencing clinging or aversion.

5. Be open and trust the process

“Open your eyes to the beauty around you, open your mind to the wonders of life, open your heart to those who love you, and always be true to yourself.” — Donna Davis

We may say that open-mindedness is built on trust. It is the antithesis of anxiety, stress and intolerance. It means that we are willing to welcome new thoughts, ideas and people, and everything they bring alongside them. An authentic person is open to new ideas no matter what their fruition looks like, simply because they like to try out things without expecting to reach a specific outcome. They may live by a code of values and morals that remain constant, but when it comes to opinions, inspiration, people and events, they’re always open to listen, explore, discuss and try out. Authenticity asks that we judge free of bias, that we’re willing to break free from the old in the same way we are preparing ourselves to welcome the new.

When we are around people who express themselves authentically, who carry themselves in authenticity and therefore live an authentic life, we need to be ready to interact with them also in an authentic way.

May your thoughts, words and actions align and manifest according your unique authentic blueprint and may this change and influence the world around you in an authentic way as well. Right now this is needed more than ever!

I love you.

And remember,

Everything you seek, lies within your Self.

Heart to Heart,

Christina

© Christina Georgiou