7 Signs You Are Aligned With Your Authentic Self
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Are you showing up to your life authentically? That's a loaded question, right? Living authentically is different for everyone. However, there are some general shifts that happen when you start to align with your authentic self. That’s why in this episode of Embrace Your Real, I want to share 7 signs that you are aligned with your authentic self.
What I discussed:
You are truly living in accordance with your VALUES.
You feel grateful for the good — and the bad.
You’re able to stand up for yourself when needed.
You have compassion for yourself.
You’re aware of your fears and self-limiting thoughts but don’t allow them to hold you back.
You do what makes YOU happy.
You live every day by your own rules - not someone else’s.
What if you don’t have any of these signs of living an authentic life? What do you do? It’s okay, you can start working towards living more authentically TODAY. I put together a simple guide on how to do so in Episode 226.
Link mentioned in this episode:
Episode 226: 7 Things You Need to Do to Be More Authentic Daily
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 back to another bonus episode. I am so grateful that you are here. Are you showing up authentically to your life? I know that this is a loaded question and that's why in this episode I want to kind of share with you seven signs that you are aligned with your authentic self, especially as we head into the New Year with goals. I just did an episode on goal setting and how important that is and kind of some of the things to think about as you're heading into the new year. And just remember, living authentically is going to look different for every person. However, I think that there are some general shifts that happen when you start to align with your most authentic self. But before we dive in, I wanted to share this review. It comes from Hello Kitty in parentheses, Kitty White. She gave a five star review and said, "Favorite podcast. I've only been listening to Julie for a couple of weeks and I am obsessed. She helps me realize so much. I've started recommending this podcast to my friends, and even they tell me how much they love it. I love it so much."
Thank you so much for recommending this podcast to your friends. That means the absolute world to me. If think about if every single woman that tunes in on a regular basis, recommends it to one or two people overnight, we could double our impact. And that is my ultimate goal. And just my heart is to serve people, empowering them, educating them. And so the more women that we can impact that would just that would bless me so much. So if you could share this podcast with one or two friends, that is my one ask of you not going to ask you to leave a review, although reviews are amazing, but if you could share this podcast with one or two friends, that would bless me so much this year as we head into a new year.
Okay, so let's dive into the seven signs that you are aligned with your most authentic self. Number one, you are truly living in accordance with your values. You've got to ask yourself, what do you value most in your life? What is the purpose of your life? Do you have specific values that you live by?
For me, as a Christian, I have values of life like that are fundamental to my everyday living, and these are the fundamental beliefs that guide and motivate my actions and my attitude on a daily basis. So value number one is people, right? People are important to God. Thus, they should be important to me. Therefore, we are called to use our gifts and our talents and our resources that God has entrusted to us to serve people. Value number two I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that the Bible is my life manual, for lack of a better word. When I am feeling confused or when I'm feeling like I need guidance, the first place that I look is God's Word. That is how He speaks to me. And trust me when I say there is literally an answer to any question that you will ever have in the Bible. It's amazing, and God's word is awe inspiring, and there is just so much wisdom and discernment that comes from reading his word on a regular basis. Value number three, authenticity. God calls us to be real and not perfect and value number four, leadership. I believe that God calls us to be leaders in this world, not not follow the world's way. So if you don't already have some core values that you live in, stand by now would be a good time to write that down, especially as we head into a new year. But once you have your values asking yourself like they're kind of a great way to kind of check up on yourself, like, am I living in accordance to these values and really remembering that your fundamental beliefs and values, those should be the things that motivate your actions and your attitude on a daily basis.
Number two, you feel grateful for the good and the bad. If you're living authentically, you realize that not everything is going to be perfect all the time and you need to let go of those expectations. Right? This really allows you to embrace the moments when life is good because you're not wishing for more. You're not wishing for something even better. You're appreciating you're here the here and now and really looking at the moment for what it is. But then you're also able to appreciate the bad. You're able to look at the bad and say, Look, what can we learn from this? Why am I going through this? How can I have character growth right? And know that life wouldn't be so good without the bad? If life was always good, like you, you, it would just become regular to you, right? So I really think that the trials and tribulations that we go through are so important. And I think you're living authentically when you're grateful for both of those things. As hard as it might be, sometimes.
Number three, you're able to stand up for yourself when needed, right? I think that this is important and you understand the line between like being civil and like shutting up, but also speaking up and being courageous. And I think that this world lacks courage. Like, plain and simple. Like, courage is so few and far between. And I think that it's really important that you stand up for what you believe, but you also stand up for things when you aren't, you know, feeling like you're being respected or you feel like other people are putting you down or they're diminishing your values. I think that it's important that you have the courage to stand up for yourself in those situations.
Number four, you have compassion for yourself. You have to learn to realize that it's okay to be tired. It's okay to not finish everything off your to do list. It's okay to not give 100% every single day. I always say do the best that you can with what you have to give that day. It's okay. You don't have to be perfect. It is okay. And you need to have compassion for yourself when things don't go the way that you initially thought they would. You have to realize that that is a part of being human. Don't beat yourself up. Just acknowledge it and move on.
Number five, you're aware of your fears and your self limiting thoughts, but you don't allow them to hold you back. When you're truly living your most authentic self, this doesn't mean that negative thoughts like magically disappear. They don't. We're human. We're going to think these things right. But I think that it's important that you don't allow those thoughts to control you. I think that you can acknowledge them. You can know that they're there, but they do not dictate you in any way, shape or form. And this is where for me, when I have a negative thought, come into my head and this is what God calls us to do, right? 2 Corinthians 10:5 says "We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ." And I think, you know, there's going to be times in our head, especially when we're putting ourselves out there or when we're being obedient and we're doing all of the right things. There is going to be negative things that come into our head. And I think that this is this is where it's so important to be in constant communication with God and just reminding yourself like, I'm human. This thought is coming into my head, but I'm going to take it captive and I'm going to make it obedient to Christ. I'm going to give it to God and say, God, please remind me of the truth. I'm not going to let this dictate my day. I'm not going to let this dictate what I'm doing or I'm not going to shrink back, you know, especially in those situations where you're putting yourself out there or you're being courageous, like you're taking the steps needed to stand up for what you believe in. It is so easy to give in to our thoughts and it is so easy to allow the thoughts in our minds to dictate every single thing. And I don't want that for you. I don't think that that is the most productive use of your time. And I really think that those negative thoughts can allow us to shrink back and not live in the way that God has intended us to live.
Number six, you do what makes you happy, and this is so important. I think that we are called to experience joy in our life. And I think that it's important that you're recognizing and prioritizing things that make you happy and bring you joy and know that when you're able to prioritize these things in your life, I truly believe that you're able to show up as the best version of yourself to other people and serve other people in your best capacity. And so I want you to make room for Joy this upcoming year. I want you to ask yourself if you are doing things on a daily basis that truly bring you joy.
And last but not least, you are living by your convictions, by your rules. You're not dictated by what somebody else might be thinking or saying to you. Here's a silly example, but this is so important to be living in this way. Like maybe you're going out to eat and you want to eat the pizza, but everyone around you is eating salad. Regardless of what everyone else around you is doing. I don't want you to feel that pressure from other people. I don't want other people and what their actions are and what they're thinking. I don't want that to dictate your decisions. I want you to make decisions based on your convictions and what makes you happy and what you feel you want to follow. I know that's a very silly example, but it's true. Like, I think so often we make these decisions based on either what other people think or what we think they'll think of us or what other people say. And I want you to truly live courageous and live by your convictions and not be dictated by somebody else's. So there you have it.
Let me quickly recap those seven signs that you are living authentically. Number one, you are living in accordance with your values. Number two, you feel grateful for the good and the bad. Number three, you're able to stand up for yourself when needed. Number four, you have compassion for yourself. Number five, you're aware of your fears and limiting beliefs, but you don't allow those to hold you back. Number six You do what brings you joy and what makes you happy. And lastly, number seven. You live daily by your convictions, not somebody else's.
So what if you don't have these signs of living an authentic life? What do you do?
Well, I think it's okay. And I think that it's important that you start working towards living more authentically. And I actually put a guide together in episode 226: Seven Things You Need to Do to Be More Authentic Daily. I will link that in the show notes below, but I think that this episode will give you some insight. I think it will also give you some food for thought. As we enter into a new year. And I want all of us to enter into 2023 living our most authentic life, because I think when we are authentic to who we are and who God created us to be, that is the most fulfilling place to be.
That is all that I have for today's bonus episode. Thank you so much for tuning in. I love you so much and I'll talk to you in the next one.
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, Julie. A lot better. Yes, it's within 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 and never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me and 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 your real because you're worth it.