Authentic You

When do you smile the most? What makes you laugh? When do you feel most proud?...When are at peace?

Closing a deal. Sharing a story with your husband. Cheering your son's basketball team. Watching the sun rise or set over a body of water.

The answers will be as unique and as plentiful as the number gathered in any one setting. Personality, preferences, and environment will certainly color your response. There is no "right of wrong", no "good or better." But the common thread will be authenticity.

At those moments when we are honoring our inner impulses, our inner drive, our inner joy, our inner peace --that is when we are our authentic selves. Sounds simple enough. We generally don't intend to put on a front for ourselves, our loved ones, our Creator. Why would we?

Recently, a woman shared with me that when she exited her vehicle at her workplace each day, she felt she was putting on a uniform. Figuratively speaking, she donned an "acceptable garment" and left a portion of herself in the car before walking across the parking lot to enter the building. Her admission wasn't uncommon. Many of us are conditioned at one time or another to conform our words, our actions, our style, our activities and interests to fulfill some spoken --or unspoken-- request.

Certainly there will be situations when we should consciously choose to adopt a moderate tone so as not to diminish the objective of our presence. Hence, I continue to recommend not showing up for corporate job interviews dressed like the Crocodile Hunter. But more often than not, we allow others to choose (influence, dictate, suggest...) when we will not merely moderate ourselves, but actually submit and suppress our authentic selves. For whose benefit are we suppressing ourselves (i.e. who stands to gain)?

Today's Question:

Am I choosing to be authentic in all of my interactions, or am I allowing others to choose for me?