Are you really living your life to the fullest? Dan Grant does some soul searching to bring you life changing advice.
Two weeks ago I asked myself a question that started the process of changing EVERYTHING in my life. From how I live to how I actually see the world. I feel different. I talk a bit different (I’m still pretty sarcastic – sorry). I approach conversations differently. I do a lot of things different – and better if I do say so myself. Some of my fears have already evaporated and I’m definitely working hard on certain other fears. The point is that by asking myself this one question and embracing the discomfort of the answers and digging deep for the reasons has dramatically shifted the direction of my life.
That one question was, “Why am I the way I am?”
The Answers That one question brings a flood of other questions dissecting how I’ve gotten to where I am or why I act and live the way I do. Like why do I laugh at certain things that I maybe shouldn’t laugh at? Why do I feel betrayed if someone cancels on me? Why do I struggle sharing my stories with certain people? Why do I love music so much? Why is this the career I chose or should this be the career I’m in? Why am I so shy in certain situations?
It’s an incredible thing to figure out what past events have helped in us accepting our behaviours and actions of who we currently are as a person. But once you become aware of your fears then you can begin the work of discovering how to re-find your true authentic self.
It’s a really tough subject to talk about sometimes because what is your authentic self? Since I’m an amateur on this subject I will tell you my current best thinking on it.
What is Your Authentic Self? I believe you are your authentic self when you have no fear of what people think of you and you don’t let anybody determine your path in life. You have complete self-love for yourself (you are the most important person in your world aren’t you?). I believe you embrace your feelings and do not run from them. You trust the process of the world and know that the struggles bring the true blessings. You constantly do things that move, make your heart sing, and give you butterflies. You give selflessly and you have total power because of who you are – not what you have.
Now, that’s actually a pretty brief list, but a good list to get you started on remembering what makes you truly happy and makes you feel alive and brings you lasting joy. The first step towards finding authenticity of yourself is to simply become aware of the things in your life that just don’t seem right. Are you betraying yourself from living the life of your dreams? I recently read a quote that said, “most people die at twenty and get buried at eighty.”
