The Meaning Of Authenticity

Authenticity – the quality of being genuine

This can be quite a deep topic so bear with me ok?

Alright so, there are many people around us, right?

I want you to think about this – what are they like?

Your colleagues, your friends – are they real or fake?

Think about it

After you reflect a bit, I want you to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself this

“What about you? Are you real or fake?”

Obviously you don’t have to answer me at all, you know yourself

And whether you are telling the truth, or lying, to yourself

And that my friends, is being authentic

Ok it’s not such a short article 

Truthfully, you might be thinking, it’s because everyone around you are fakes, that’s why you got to put up barriers and walls and fakeness too

I totally get that!

But the thing is, have you considered that it might be because you are putting up a false image that made people around you put up these false images too?

You may have heard of the Law of Attraction

Guess what?

It’s real

And if you think positive, you attract positivity right?

That’s what it says

Which also means if you think negative, you attract negativity too

So yea, maybe you have a false image (even if it’s false image of positivity) that attracts false people to you too?

Ok if it’s mind boggling, read on on why you need to be authentic instead

Why be authentic?

Ok I totally understand why it ain’t easy to be authentic

Because it can hurt

And hey, I’ve been there too

But after the bit of hurt is where we start to grow

Like a lobster that need to feel some pain as it breaks his shell in order to grow

You may or may not know me, but there are a few people who find me being authentic, being genuine, is so refreshing

And they really did say that

Also, they said it was rare

So here are 3 more reasons for why be authentic

A. You get true connection

When we are authentic and real, we no longer have false masks to hide behind

No barriers, no walls

This allows us to make deep and true connections with other people

Whether it’s in a romantic relationship, business relationship or collaboration etc

Think about it

Your romantic relationships can grow so much more

And your clients will recommend more customers to you simply because you are real

And because you are real, you become like a natural magnet

Lee McKing The Hypnotist with some of his members from the Singapore 

B. You get more respect (and probably more influential too)

Being authentic in this day and age can also mean doing what we think is right

It’s being true to ourselves first and foremost

This can get lots of respect from people around you

And some might recognise you as an influential leader

I say might cause some people might not want to be a leader

(It’s ok… just decline)

C. You get more things done 

Ok what do I mean by this?

Well, if you got to put masks and falsehoods up all the time, wouldn’t that expend a lot of energy?

Then you end up having to eat into your sleep to get your work done

But they never seem to end!

So when you are authentic, you now have more energy to do work instead of putting up walls and false pretences

You are now you

So I hope you got the picture now

(If you haven’t, read the above again but now hear my voice XD )

And the next question is – how?

How to be authentic and real? (without seeing me of course)

I’ve got that covered too so read on

1. Learn to accept you for being you

I would have said accept you for being you but that might be too fast haha

Accept your strengths and your weaknesses

And be cool about it

It’s ok if people know about it

Because now you can ask for help!

And please don’t think asking for help is a sign of weakness! OMG

Asking for help from someone actually show you trust that person

And they in turn will trust you too

(I mean for more personal stuff, not like sending an email and asking your colleagues to find a list)

2. If you need to, write it down

This is optional

But some people might need to write it down and others can have an overall feel of it

What do I mean?

This relates to the above

Write down your strengths and weaknesses

The things you love and hate

Keep a gratitude diary too if you like

Gratitude definitely helps too

3. Let go and release the past or negative stuff (if any) 

This is probably the biggest step for you

So I know it ain’t easy when you are doing it by yourself

Why?

Some of these stuff are things you had since you were a child

Others are negative but they keep you safe

I want you to at least try ok?

Worse case, you can talk to me

You can also choose to forgive the ones who hurt you before

Again, letting go of such things is beneficial for you and no one else

Cause once you release these stuff, you are free!

4. Respect other’s opinions, even if they are not true

This in particular relates to you not taking their word for it

Definitely not when they are negative words and trying to bring you down

Remember, these people will be here for a while because you had these fake and negative people for a while now

You can choose to cut them off entirely or learn to accept their existence and yet, deny them influence over your mind

Because they might not like that you are making positive changes, so be aware of this

Respect their opinions, but trust yourself

5. Be present 

While I say be present, this breaks into 2 parts

Be present in the moment, enjoy life as it comes

Shit may happen but that shit will teach you how to appreciate the happy moments when it comes too

Next, be present with others

Sometimes, too often, people zone off and not listen to the other party in a conversation

Yet they pretend they are

So be present in everything you do

I have a few more in mind but I will stop here for now

Partly cause I feel with 3 reasons why and 5 ways how, your mind might be like wow already

And partly also because I believe this is enough for you to start taking action towards positive change to be authentic

What do you think?