There is no doubt that being in the habit of expressing our authentic selves is advantageous to both ourselves and to everyone around us. Being authentic contributes to our holistic well-being, encouraging happiness, fulfillment, and an elevated sense of purpose and contribution.
People around us benefit from our authenticity in that in our true state of being, we express a natural and encouraging energy, and in doing so we also give people space and support to express themselves in their own authentic way.
What is authenticity?
Authenticity means being true to our own personality, values, and spirit, regardless of the pressure we might feel to act otherwise. Authenticity means being honest with ourselves and with others, taking responsibility for our errors, and expressing our real and genuine selves. Simply put, an authentic person is someone who is comfortable in their skin and does not feel the need to put on a front to fit in or be accepted. They know who they are, and do not try to hide their essence.
Our authentic self is always tolerant, kind, and encouraging to others, which can never be anything different. Our true selves, that core expression is aligned to that of our Creator, and is that same expression of love, kindness and forgiveness. Our authentic self can never be the selfish expression of our own personal and material desires. This distorted expression is referred to as our ego and explained as our sense of self-esteem or self-importance – fuelling an inflated feeling of pride and superiority to others.
Pursuit of Self
Our entire life purpose is the pursuit to discover our true selves, our authentic selves. Once we find this awareness, it allows us to express a flow of life that naturally brings us joy, peace, harmony, and brings constructive development and opportunity to our environment and circumstances.
The world of course is in harmony. Our thinking and ignorance of how to locate and express our true selves, our authenticity, is what blurs the expression of our natural selves. This is the Light that shines on our path, and keeps us pursuing new and exciting growth opportunities, adventures and experiences.
Allowing our authentic selves to guide our thinking and expressions is what the world needs to tame our earthly desires to acquire material gain, power and authority. How we discover our true selves is so simple, so simple in fact that most people do not reach the point of this understanding. ssentially, we just need to be ourselves.
Authenticity is critical when establishing core values within an organisation. Not only does uthenticity ensure that what we think, say, and do are aligned, but it also helps to establish trust among employees and create a company culture people value and want to be part of.
Knowing ourselves is of course a journey we experience in our day to day living, and each person will discover their authenticity in their own way and own time. Nobody can give us our authenticity and confidence in expressing our true selves, but we all discover it in a similar way, through deep reasoning and thinking for ourselves. The saying goes, the Creator made us as he wanted us to be, and we can discover what He wants for us when we think for ourselves. A copy is worthless on the screen of Life, and when we find our true selves and express this flow, we not only bring appreciation to ourselves and our environment, we also support the development and evolution of the human race, our world and planet.
Authenticity in the workplace
Business leaders have in recent times recognised the value of encouraging authenticity in the workplace. In the days of old, when the world was ‘more predictable’, business leaders and governing bodies were more able to control where they wanted their businesses to be at a point in time, and to define the building blocks and milestones to reach these goals. The simple application of a clearly defined vision, with aligned policies, procedures and job descriptions was enough to accurately predict the likelihood of an organisation`s success. This past era in business required only that staff brought their education and experiences to work, and in fact they encouraged their staff and teams to leave their authentic selves and personalities at the door before entering.
The world is not so simple now, and all indications are that we are on a fast curve of change, unpredictability, and growing in complexity. It is now no longer possible for a business leader to predict and control growth and profitability of an organisation. Encouraging authenticity in the workplace, where staff are encouraged to bring their full selves to work every day is being seen as the next critical step in the evolution of business and sustainability of the economy.
When we show up in our full authenticity, we have an open and pliable mind, able to notice ways to improve processes, communications, and outputs. This is the result of thinking for ourselves, and recognising that we do not only draw knowledge for our actions and activities through our rational side of experiences and education, we also have intuitive, emotional and spiritual sides to our beings.
When we combine each of these components, and are passionate about our work and outcomes, we ignite our authenticity, raise our energy levels, and express an inner calm and wisdom.
Expressing our authenticity
Discovering our authenticity is even less complicated than we may think. Our authenticity exists naturally within us, and we do not have to add anything to ourselves to express its magnificence. In fact, we ourselves stifle our authentic expression through our own misunderstanding, ignorance, and arrogance. When we remove self-centred expressions, fear and doubt from our minds, we ‘miraculously’ discover the authentic voice within, and we feel more alive, more able and more positive than we have felt ever before. This authenticity then never leaves us. Once discovered, we do not ever drop back into our past illusion of desperation, worry, and loss of hope.
Authenticity is the key to our successful existence both individually and collectively. Many people have discovered authenticity for themselves, and many more will discover its presence in their lives in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. Those people who have found it become the people we admire most, as they seem to excel wherever they go, and in whatever they do. They are calm and confident, and in their presence, they allow us to feel the same sense of comfort and reassurance.
Society would transform itself naturally if everybody expressed their authentic selves, and with this new way of understanding ourselves and purpose, we would discover ways to transform inequality, mental and physical health challenges, and environmental issues.
A strong sense of purpose
Each time we are with a person bold enough to express their authenticity, we should celebrate their freedom gained, and encourage ourselves to take our first steps towards this magical existence. Being authentic does not mean we suddenly become a different person, but it is a step forward in our own evolution as a person and species, and we will be amazed at the many new doors of thought and opportunity that will open on our paths ahead. We will feel a strong sense of purpose and be attracted to helping and supporting others on their journeys of personal discovery, recognising more holistically that we are one human race, and that which makes us most happy and content is when we are helping and serving others.
Our experiences and challenges are our greatest support when seeking our authenticity, as these are the p
illars of understanding that we stand on to reach into the mighty mental space that we discover is as real, or better said, more real than our physical existence. When our actions align with our true nature, we are more likely to pursue our passions, believe in ourselve
s, and feel confident in our opinions and actions.
The Japanese word ‘ikigai’ means a ‘life purpose’ i.e. not only finding your authentic self, but to know what we love, what we’re good at, what the world needs, and what we can be paid for. Having this understanding of ourselves will help us to also recognise our authentic selves.
For more information contact DRG Outsourcing, DRG Siyaya, and BusinessFit SA
Contact David White,
T: +27 (0)31 767 0625