I have never felt more like myself than in the last six months. Separating from the way I used to guard off my inner self in fear. Fear is the number one contributor to being not true to yourself. Fear of judgement, gossip, betrayal, and fear of yourself. I was afraid of what letting my true self out would make me realize about it. I didn’t want to look in the mirror at who I was on the inside and not like what I saw. So, thank goodness for my two inspirations these last six months, my two Anna’s. (No actually both their names are Anna.)
Anna #1 confronted me with who I wanted to be, and everything that I wish I was better at. She exposed my weaknesses by showing that they were her strengths. She made me feel comfortable to be goofy, silly, wildly unpredictable, and unlike anything people had seen from me before. Anna is a role model for how to care for others while being a boss and achieving everything she puts her mind toward.
Anna #2 has made me love life. She brings light and positivity to any situation, conflict, and conversation she has. She loves first, thinks second. Her ability to begin with love is what makes her someone anyone can count on to be a shoulder for them. Anna is a role model that embodies what love means in every action every day.
Before I met these two amazing girls, I was not being true to myself, but then they pulled her out of me. I didn’t know it at the time but meeting the Anna’s would force me to be someone I had never been before…. myself. I wouldn’t only be myself just in the times I was around them, but unconditionally. Because I knew they would support me in it no matter what. And by no matter what I mean in every decision I made I would go back to what mattered in my heart, what values I had, and if it contributed to my own being.
To recognize if I am being myself, I have learned to ask myself three questions:
1: Do I feel uncomfortable?
2: Am I uncomfortable because of the people around me, the environment, or because of myself?
3: What is the worst-case scenario that can come from me being 100% myself?
These questions are important to listen to because they can help you find your comfortable and uncomfortable spots in life to make your inner self expose itself. Being uncomfortable in situations is completely doable if you have people that make you feel comfortable with them. Reaching the level of unconditional self-love takes discipline, time, and the right tribe around you. This week I challenge you to make some time to check in with yourself if or when you find yourself an uncomfortable situation. Give yourself the time and space to ask the three questions I shared with you above and then allow yourself the freedom to be you.