Minisode: Authenticity

Hello, you lovely humans. Welcome to the Live Outrageously with Lady Grey podcast, I'm your hostess, Lady Grey. And today's episode is actually a minisode. So rather than interviewing someone, I'll be talking about some topics that are near and dear to my heart. In this and future minisodes, I'll be talking about topics like leadership, impact, networking and connection, relationships, Authenticity, and how to live a more outrageous life.

If you'd like to connect with me, or work with me one on one, on living more outrageously in your own life, please visit www.live-outrageously.com.

I spent the better part of my life in boxes defined for me by other people, whether that was family, friends, co workers, bosses, or even just what I encountered day to day in society and the media. So I'm here to talk today a little bit about authenticity, and not being afraid to live outrageously to step outside of those boxes, into explore life outside of the expectations other people have put on you and the limitations that you've created for your life. Many times, the people who create the boxes for us are well intentioned, but because of their own narrow focus and their own limited beliefs, they impose those on you and then we adopt them as our own limiting beliefs. And so today, we're going to talk a little bit about how to get past that, and begin to create our own self image and our own self confidence that's in the strong, beautiful center of who you are, and not someone or something external.

So authenticity is to be true to your personality and your character, it means that you're willing to show the world who you really are, and you're willing to live the life that you were meant to live. Authenticity, is the ability to show your uniqueness to the world. And there are very few authentic people in the world. But you know them when you see them, because we're naturally drawn to authentic people, we feel comfortable with those that are willing to be themselves.

So I thought I would share some strategies with you to live a more authentic life and begin to really show the world the authentic you. So number one is know your values. So what is important to you make a list if you need to have every quality you think is important for a person to have, and then put that list in order. So what are your top five values, when you know what your values are, the authentic choice in any given situation is going to be much more obvious than when you really don't know what your values are, it makes it possible for you to make values based decisions. So that's the first thing know your values.

The second thing is to stop doing things you don't want to do. So you still have to pay your bills, right and you still have to take out the trash. However, you don't have to play on the church softball team, or drive your neighbor to the airport, or take care of your cousin's cat. If something is too disagreeable for you. Just say no. Get comfortable with the idea of saying no. So that's number two, stop doing things you don't want to do.

Number three is do what you want to do. This seems logical, right? But and very simple. Think about it for a second, you can spend your time how you please. You don't need a big excuse or proof that you're doing something noble like on a cosmic level. And the fact that you want to do it is a good enough reason. It's important not to obviously hurt anybody including yourself, but feel free to play the harmonica or dance in your front yard or heaven forbid wear white after Labor Day. So do what you want to do.

The next strategy is to keep an open mind. So when your thinking is very rigid or contained in these little limiting boxes, you limit yourself and you prevent your true self from shutting Through. So preconceived notions are prisons, and they're gonna block you from being authentic. So learn how to experience the world from a variety of perspectives. And with an open mind, it will serve you, you will learn. And I believe that you will discover more about yourself as well.

So the fifth strategy for living more authentically is to trust your intuition. Now, this sounds kind of woowoo. But when you ignore your hunches, you're going to feel out of sorts, you're just going to your subconscious has information for you. And it's self serving most of the time. So trust your instincts, because they are encouraging you, nudging you towards authenticity and what you truly desire. They're going to let you know, when you're not being genuine, as well, right? So use it as a barometer. trust your intuition.

The next strategy is to be self aware. You cannot be authentic, if you lack self awareness. So, notice on any given day, how you feel, ask yourself, what do I need right at this moment? And how can I meet that need? If you ignore your emotions, you absolutely cannot be self aware. And you can't be authentic without being self aware.

The next strategy is to practice boldness. The biggest reason for a lack of authenticity is timidity and fear. So we want to say and do certain things, but we are uncomfortable with standing out in any way. It makes us feel vulnerable, it makes us feel exposed. I got news for you, a little discomfort, never killed anyone. And there is so much to be gained. By being bold, it is absolutely worth giving it a try. Start small, start small, but do not be afraid to stand out from the crowd.

Okay, um, my eighth strategy here is to openly share your opinion. Think about this for a minute. tell others what you think, and how you feel about something. And, of course, you're going to want to be tactful, so that you remain considerate of people's feelings. But are check yourself. Are you hesitant to share your thoughts on a topic. And I think it's really important in terms of recognizing the box or the limiting belief that you are entertaining. Ask yourself why it is that you're hesitant to share those thoughts. It generally is coming from a place of fear once again, a fear of being different of fear of offending somebody a fear of not meeting expectations. So begin the gentle practice of sharing your opinion with other people.

All right, and here's my last strategy. Oh, and this one's a big one. Are you ready? It is avoid perfectionism. Trying to be perfect is a huge limitation on your natural personality and your expression because frankly, none of us are perfect. And so if we put that limitation on ourselves, we can't be who we truly are inside. Avoiding mistakes and imperfection at all costs is a recipe for in authenticity, it's handicapping. It's paralyzing. And it puts us in a place again, of fear of failure. And I'll be really honest, we are never going to reach that perfect standard, that that perfect standard is what someone else has planted in your brain or you have constructed in your brain as being the penultimate, be all end all goal and it may not be in alignment with the gifts and the talents that you have been given as a human being.

You have a uniqueness that only you were given. You have gifts to share with the world you have a voice and it is important to the people around you that you share it It's important for your own happiness and your own contentedness and growth during your life.

So just to recap, there are nine strategies I gave you today. So the first was know your values. The second was stop doing things you don't want to do. The third is do what you want to do. The fourth, keep an open mind. Fifth, trust your intuition. Sixth, be self aware. Seventh, practice boldness. Eighth, openly share your opinion. And lastly, avoid perfectionism. So, take a second, listen to this podcast again, this little mini sewed again, grab a notebook and maybe jot some of these ideas down and really think about how you can begin to live more authentically.

If this was helpful to you, or you have questions and you want to reach out and learn more, I actually have a new course called Journey to Authenticity that you can sign up for if you're interested in more information you can visit www.live-outrageously.com and click on "Courses".

Well, outrageous friends, it has been my honor and my pleasure to have you here today. I hope that you took away some outrageous ideas for your own life. If you enjoyed yourself, make sure that you are subscribed to live outrageously with Lady Grey on whatever your podcast app is. You can also connect with me personally on Facebook  at www.facebook.com/outrageousladygrey or on Instagram at lady.grey. Also be sure to check out our podcast website. Once again, this is Lady Grey, encouraging you to go out and live outrageously.