Self Improvement

What does being true to yourself really mean?

It means being able to be "you". The real you, whether you're at the office or at home, or with friends or family, or with your partner or children, or with co-workers or your boss, or even with someone you don't even know, you can be you.

The question then is, do you know who you are? This is one of the age old questions, "Who are you?"

Sometimes we don't recognize when we aren't being ourselves because we're so accustomed to being a certain way around people or in situations, that it's like a security blanket without which we feel lost.

In a sense we become like chameleons, changing our ways, instead of our colour, to fit in or adapt to situations that we believe requires us to be different than who we really are.

Maybe you're afraid that if you are you, people won't like you, won't respect you, will judge you, will think you're "tooting your own horn", will make fun of you, will think you're stupid, will not understand you, or will be upset with you, etc.

These are the beliefs or perceptions of "who" you think you are, not "who" you really are.

To remain true to yourself, you must recognize how often you aren't, and begin to wonder when you are.

Ah...yes, this is easier said than done. Often we don't want to see how we are changing our spots, so to speak, to meet the requirements we believe are necessary to impress, mislead, or to portray ourselves the way we want others to see us, or to conform to the way they want to see us, out of insecurities and/or fear.

Time and again we head out the front door, and the way we are at home seems to metamorphosis with each step we take into this other person, sometimes without us even being aware of it because we are so accustomed to doing this without any introspection.

Okay, some of our comfortable home habits like being in our snuggies, or having bed head hair, or burping, or passing a little gas, we may not want to take out the door with us, but I'm not talking about behaviours and etiquette, I'm referring to the character of your soul, your authentic self, the true you!

The whole kit and caboodle - your fears, the years, the insecurities, the wonderment, the silliness, the seriousness, the pains and the gains, your successes and failures, all of these and more have added to who you are.

Sometimes we are more ourselves outside the home than at home, another great opportunity to discover why that might be.

You don't have to go out and share everything about you with everyone you meet, or stand up and shout, "Hey, look at me; today I'm feeling old, or afraid, or happy, or mad as a hatter", etc., but you can become aware of how you are in each experience you encounter. This is how you remain true to yourself.

Before children are taught or reprimanded on how to behave, and even when they are, they say and do things with the purest of hearts. If they feel like throwing themselves down on the ground and having a tantrum, they do so and if they think something they often just say it without thinking.

You might not want to throw yourself on the floor or just blurt out whatever is on your mind, although this could be interesting, but you can begin to recognize what's going on for you and whether you roll yourself up in a carpet and hide your feelings away, or roll out the red carpet and parade them around.

The more you observe yourself when you are alone, when you go out, when you are with others, or in situations, the more you remain true to yourself because you have paused for a moment to allow who you really are, in.

Read that again. The more you observe yourself, the more you remain true to yourself because you have paused for a moment to allow who you really are, in.

Be the spectator in you and of you at your red carpet event.

When you recognize the moments you're not being you, hooray! Seize the moment and breathe in who you really are.

Continue to explore you because you are so worth knowing.

Who and how are you right now in this moment?

If you use these techniques, you will be assisted in being your true self.

Kimberley Cohen is the Founder, Facilitator and Personal Insight Coach of The Insight Technique. She founded the Insight Technique" - Your Insight to genuine Happiness, Purpose and Prosperity to assist herself and others in transforming limiting mindsets.

Soar through the limiting beliefs holding you back and experience the freedom of unlimited possibilities. http://www.TheInsightTechnique.com