6 Ways to Live More Authentically Part 1
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Living authentically involves a balance between what is occurring within us and how we express and represent ourselves outside. But how do we actually do that? How do you we actually start showing up more authentically? In a world of inauthenticity, I know it feels impossible sometimes to be authentic. That’s why in this episode of Embrace Your Real, I want to give you a few tips on showing up more authentically in your life.
What I discussed:
Stop pretending. It’s exhausting trying to be someone you’re not…24/7! Compartmentalizing and presenting a different version of you to all the various groups in your life will drain you to your core.
Get Comfortable in the discomfort of vulnerability. There is no authenticity where there is no truth. And there is no truth where there is no vulnerability.
The reason why you may be struggling with authenticity is because you’re striving for perfection. But here’s the thing: You’ll never achieve it because the bar always gets raised.
Link mentioned in this episode:
Episode 49: The Danger of Embracing Your Real
If you want more from me, be sure to check out:
Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Transcript:
Hey. Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal 5 minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Role With Me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace a real. Let's get it. Let's go.
Hello and welcome to another bonus episode six Ways to Live More Authentically Part one. So in today's episode, I'm going to be sharing with you one, two and three. And then in next week's episode, part two, I'll be sharing four or five and six. But living authentic really does involve a balance between what is occurring within us and then how we express and represent ourselves on the outside. But how do we actually do that? Like, how do we actually start showing up more authentically in a world of inauthenticity? I know that it can feel impossible sometimes to be authentic. And so that's why in today's bonus episode, I want to give you a few tips on how to show up more authentically in your life. But before I do that and, you know, I had to share the superhero reveal comes from Zamzam 54. She gave a five star review instead of leaving the pod. I just want to say, this is one of the best podcasts that I have come across. It really does help people with their self-esteem. And I love how you preach about spreading joy and being kind to other people. I love this so much. Thank you so much for the review. You guys already know I'm going to ask for you to leave a rating interview on Apple Podcasts. If this podcast has helped you in any way, it really just does help me and the team not only know, like what is helping you and what serving you, but it also helps other people who stumble across the podcast, whether it's, you know, a friend recommending or it's the app recommending this podcast, it helps them understand what they can gain from this podcast. So if you could scooch over to Apple Podcasts, type in embrace or reel first, make sure you subscribe so that you never miss an episode. It's that plus sign in the top right corner and then you can scroll all the way down and leave a rating interview. Like I said, we would really love if you do that, it really does. Bless us and thank you in advance for doing that.
Okay, so let's dive into the six ways to live more authentically. Part one. Number one. Stop pretending. Let's be real. It is exhausting trying to be someone that you're not. 24 seven When you come out, compartmentalize and present a different version of yourself to all different various groups in your life, it will drain you to your core, no matter who you are and what you're doing and who you're around. I just want to encourage you to show up as you not a version of you that you think they want to see because let's be real. Your energy is best used elsewhere. So the next time you feel like the tendency to pretend I want to remind you to show up with the attitude like This is me, this is my beliefs, these are my values. And whether you like it or not, it doesn't matter. Like it really doesn't matter if someone doesn't like you for who you are or your values. That's okay. You have to expect, especially when you stand up for what you believe in, that not everybody's going to agree. And that's just something that comes with living authentically. And I would also add on to that living courageously, which I think is so lacking in today's society, like people being courageous with their values and what they believe in. And honestly, if someone doesn't like you for showing up as you and as your most authentic self, it also could be that they're jealous that they wish they could do the same. Like there are so many people out there that are silent on certain issues, are silent just in what they believe, and it's because they're scared of what other people think. And I just want to encourage you to be courageous. I know it's hard in today's world, but I'm telling you, when you are able to show up as you to one person that you see a school and another person that you see at work and another person that you see at church and another person that you see at the grocery store. Like it is so freeing to be able to be the same person and in private as you are in public. And so, number one, stop pretending so, so important.
Number two, get comfortable with the discomfort of vulnerability. Here are some words to live by. There is no authenticity where there is no truth and there is no truth, whereas there is no vulnerability. Let me repeat that. There is no authenticity where there is no truth and there is no truth, where there is no vulnerability. Start questioning yourself like, Is this how you really feel? Is this what you really think? Is this what you really want? Figure out what is true for you. Be vulnerable and telling those around you. Lean into the discomfort of expressing how you feel, speaking up for yourself, calling out the B.S. in your life. Honesty and openness are two key components for authenticity. And here's a rule of thumb Speak from your soul and you'll never lack authenticity. I truly believe that God gives us the Holy Spirit for a reason, and the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. And so for me, it's really relying on the Holy Spirit and knowing like when their convictions and our mind and in our heart, we're called to speak up for them. We're called to be a voice to maybe those who don't have a voice or speak up from our experiences and share our story and share our struggles. Like that's one thing that I've learned over the last ten years of just sharing my journey online. I remember being so dang scared. I remember being so scared right out of college saying like the whole world is know like now knows when I. First came out as talking about like having an eating and body image disorder for a decade of my life, which I thought I hid so well which. Come to find out. You know, pretty much everyone in my life, like, knew I was struggling. It was very apparent with my obviously my eating and body image disorder. I was severely underweight. I was not naturally that skinny. I was definitely a for skinny. But it is so freeing and it was so freeing when I was able to be vulnerable. And I continue to just remember that feeling of freedom that you get when you are vulnerable. And I really do think that the Holy Spirit meets you in that place and like God can use you in so many different ways when you get vulnerable and you share your story. And I know it's scary because it does open up your heart and open up you're in it does open up your story to the world of criticism. But at the end of the day, if you're sharing from your heart and you're sharing your story and you're speaking your truth, it really doesn't matter what anybody else has to say. And I know that it's easier said than done. Like, there are so many times that I don't want to speak up about certain things, but I know at the end of the day, when I'm courageous and when I'm vulnerable and when I step into that like God, that's when God uses me the most like. And He uses me in ways that I are beyond my wildest dreams. And so if you are struggling with that, if you feel like you have a story that you want to share, I just want to encourage you to share it. And I know it might seem so scary, especially like I think it was the craziest thing about it when I shared my story and when I first started coming out about just all my struggles, especially with my eating and just like the body image issues that I had, I think the most scary part of it was like my Facebook community, because I don't know about you, but Facebook for me is like all the people that I know. And it was a little bit less scary just sharing it to Instagram just because, I don't know, like 98% of the people that follow me on Instagram. And so I was like, they're just a world of strangers. But it was like the actual people that know me in real life and I was like, Dang, that's scary. But the coolest things came from that and the coolest conversations came from that. And people messaging me, you know, back from high school and even middle school and my young life. Days of serving at Frontier Ranch in Winter Vista. Like, it's just been awesome to be able to connect with so many people. And so I just want to encourage you, if you are struggling with that, lean in, lean in to the vulnerability. Again, there is no authenticity where there is no truth and there is no truth, where there is no vulnerability.
Number three, embrace your imperfections. Do you find yourself trying to make your life look like perfect on Instagram or social media? I think it becomes almost this game that we don't even realize that we're in, but it's like only sharing the highlight reels and only talking to your friends and family about everything good that's going on and not wanting to burden them with the bad things or the hard things that are going on in your life. I really, really think that this really does come down to the root that you're struggling with authenticity because you're striving for this perfection. But here's the thing you'll never achieve it because the bar will always get raised. There will always be another person that achieves X, Y and Z that you're like, Dang, I didn't think about that. That's another great goal that I want to have. Or Dang, this person got another car or they got a bigger house or they have more clothes or they have their wiener or whatever it is that you're chasing. You have to remember that perfection doesn't exist. Like once you get a little bit closer, the bar will raise a little bit higher. And once you get a little bit closer, the bar will continue to raise like this cycle will just continue and you will be chasing this expectation that just feels impossible to fulfill because it is you will ultimately drive yourself crazy because you will keep trying to tweak every little thing about your life. And it's just important that you accept the messiness and the complexity of your reality, like accept the flaws and the imperfections in yourself.
These are the things that make your life and yourself beautiful and it's so, so, so important to embrace them. And I've also found when you embrace those things and when you outwardly embrace those things and share those things, it inspires other people to live in that way. And I don't know about you, but I would rather spur one another on into living more authentically than all the people around me feeling like they have to be perfect and they have to show up perfect because I'm only sharing like the good parts of my story, right? Like me. And there's been so many failures in my life, like not only in my health and fitness journey, but in our business, like in our relationships.
There have been so many things that I have missed the mark, but when I share those things, it opens up the conversation for other people to feel comfortable sharing it. And that's when authenticity and vulnerability is around. And when you. Are around that in community, like the most beautiful things open up from that. So I want to encourage you to embrace your imperfections. Okay, let me recap those. Number one, stop pretending. It is exhausting trying to be someone that you're not. 24 seven And really like compartmentalizing and presenting a different version of yourself to various different groups. I just want to encourage you to be courageous and just show up as you in private and in public the same person. Number two, get comfortable in the discomfort of vulnerability. There is no authenticity where there is no truth and there is no truth, where there is no vulnerability. And number three, the reason why you may be struggling with authenticity is because you're striving for perfection. But here's the thing. Remember, the bar will always be raised when you are striving for something that's just not attainable. If you love this episode, I know you'll also love episode 49. It's an OG episode. The danger of embracing a real. I will link that in the show notes below. If you have someone or a friend, a coworker, or someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this specific episode, I just ask that you share it out with them. You can copy the link and send it to them in a text message. You can also screenshot this and post it up on your Instagram story. Give me a tag. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. And remember, this is part one. So I did one through three in today's episode and then next week I will do four, five and six. So be sure to keep a lookout for that. I love you so much. I hope that this gave you some good insight, some good food for thought, and I will see you in the next episode. I love you. All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so, @juliealedbetter. Yes, it’s with an a in the middle for that daily post workout, real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember, that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace the real because you're worth it.