I woke up today feeling well rested and happy, but also anxious and a little blah. Feeling anxious is nothing new for me -- I've been dealing with severe anxiety since I was a child. Feeling a little blah isn't really anything new either -- we all have those days where we feel a little less than stellar.
I am fully aware that my feelings of anxiety and blah-ness stem from my overall situation: at the moment I am unemployed and attempting to get several projects off the ground (Arbonne, Sex Ed Central). There are times when it feels like I'm not going to be successful, and that all this work won't actually amount to anything. Even now, I'm SO close to reaching my Arbonne goal for the month, but I feel "stuck" on how to get there.
After reflecting on the source of these feelings, I decided that rather than dwell on them, I would take action. Action = writing (at the moment) and then getting out there and working towards my goals. After all, the only way to fail is to not try, right?
Before I started writing, however, I decided I needed a little inspiration. I visited my Facebook page, which I'll admit happens a little more often than necessary at times. I've intentionally filled my Facebook feed with positive and inspiring messages by finding, posting and liking things that make me feel awesome. I'm glad I have done this, because I read a post that really resonated with me today. It is entitled "When Being Authentic Hurts".
Essentially, this post is about being true to yourself -- being authentic -- and finding the balance between your own authenticity and hurting others. There are times, as I'm sure you know, when being true to yourself means hurting someone else. For the most part, I don't think we like to hurt each other. I know I don't like to hurt others, particularly people I care about. Sometimes, we just have to. And, as the following quotation explains, it's our responsibility to always make sure we're doing good things with our authenticity.
However you describe or name it, authenticity is an inner calling to express the essence of who you are and let it grow and flourish. It’s soul destroying to ignore it. And if it causes suffering for others, who don’t like or understand your passion, then you need to make sure you use your gift in ways that make the world a better place.
- Ian Lawton, Soulseeds.com
This really resonated with me, because not long ago I was facing exactly this type of dilemma ... Deciding whether to turn my life upside down ... and the life of someone I cared deeply for ... in order to allow my authenticity to shine through. Eventually, I did just that ... I turned everything into chaos and had quite a mess to sort out. I hurt people and changed things and faced a lot of fears while I was at it.
And you know what? I am so glad I did. Ignoring and trying to deny who I am really was destroying my soul, and now my soul is happy and I am stronger than ever. And every day I try to use my gift to make the world a better place. It just feels "right".
I'll leave you now with a quotation from Steve Jobs, which I think really sums up this post nicely. Try your best to apply these thoughts to your daily life, and watch the transformation. Live with authenticity, embrace happiness, and work your butt off to make the world a better place. Live YOUR life and YOUR truth.
Source: www.soulseeds.com
