Tweet

How to Enhance Relationships, Increase Fulfillment & Empower Yourself by Being Authentic

Written by: Mike Robbins

Article Overview: To utilize the power of authenticity in your life as a way to enhance your relationships, increase your fulfillment, and empower yourself, here are five key principles...

How to Enhance Relationships, Increase Fulfillment & Empower Yourself by Being Authentic

How often do you not say or do something because you're worried about how it'll be perceived? For most of us, myself included, this happens more often then we'd like to admit.

We live in a culture that is starving for authenticity. We want our leaders, our co-workers, our family members, our friends, and everyone else we interact with to tell us the truth and to be themselves. Most important, we want to have the personal freedom and confidence to say, do, and be who we really are, without worrying so much about how we appear to others and what they might think or say about us.

Sadly, however, even though we may say we want to live in a way that is true to our deepest passions, beliefs, and desires; most of us don't and it's not that easy. We've been taught by our parents, teachers, spouses, friends, co-workers, politicians, the media, and others, that it's more important to be liked and to fit in than it is to be who we truly are. In addition, many of us assume that who we are is not good enough and therefore we're constantly trying to fix ourselves, or to act like others who we think are better than us.

However, as the famous 19th century author and poet Oscar Wilde so brilliantly stated, "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken."

What It Really Means to Be Authentic

Authenticity is about enjoying a new sense of freedom to be who we really are--ourselves, natural and without a mask in our relationships, our work, and our life. It takes courage, commitment, and depth to:

- Look within ourselves

- Tell the whole truth (even when we don't want to)

- Be vulnerable

- Admit, own, and share our true thoughts, feelings, desires, insecurities, passions, embarrassment, dreams, and more.

However, being open and real about all of these things (and more) is what it means to be authentic in life.

Five Principles for Being Your Authentic Self

In order to utilize the power of authenticity in your life as a way to enhance your relationships, increase your fulfillment, and empower yourself, here are five key principles:

1) Know Yourself - Make a commitment to your own personal growth. Discover more of who you are. And, seek out and allow the support, honest feedback, and guidance of others.

2) Transform Your Fear - There's nothing wrong with having fear, it's the resistance and denial of fear that is the real problem. When you admit, own, feel, and express your fear, you have the ability to move through it, transform it, and utilize its power in a positive way. Taking action in the face of fear is courageous and empowering.

3) Express Yourself - Have the courage to speak your truth boldly. Deal with conflicts directly. Express your emotions fully. Be vulnerable and real about what you think and how you feel. While on the surface you may worry that this will be seen as "weak," in actuality expressing yourself completely gives you access to real freedom and power.

4) Be Bold - Live, speak, and act with courage, passion, and truth – even if it's difficult or scary. Go for what you want in your work and in your life. And get back up when you fall down, which you will.

5) Celebrate Who You Are - Appreciate and honor who you are, what you do, and the gifts and talents that you have. Celebrating yourself is not about being arrogant. It's an awareness of your own power and it's the key to self-confidence, fulfillment, and authenticity.

Being your authentic self is not for the faint of heart, but once you're willing to truly engage and do the work to become more real - your life, your work, and your relationships will be more exciting, meaningful, and fulfilling!

Related Articles
  CEO Speak Out
  Attracting Holding Good Trade Show Traffic
  Blogging
  Ten Characteristics of Leadership
  Discernment

Article Tags: 19th century, authenticity, co workers, confidence, courage, desires, dreams, embarrassment, family members, feelings, mask, oscar wilde, parents, passions, personal freedom, poet, politicians, relationships, true thoughts, whole truth



Related Forum Posts
2007 Goals - My yearly goals for December 2007: 1. Add 10-15 new "ideal" clients to our client roster 2. Increase revenues by $500,000 3. Average at least 1 paid speaking engagement per month.
Increase Productivity and Profits on the Web - A Web site is a great way to better service and market to current customers, but often a difficult way to attract new ones." Increase Productivity and Profits on the Web New! Don’t let the savings and productivity enhancements described in the following pages make you rush out and spend thousands of dollars overnight to have someone set you up with your own Web server, hosted Web site, or intranet.
Women Entrepreneurs On The Rise - Are you a women who owns her own business? I believe that empowered, successful women are one of the keys to causing our world to change to a more peaceful and community oriented society. Did you know that women are now contributing to nearly half of all new small businesses?. Maybe through your business you want to make a difference and of course you also want to have prosperity. According to the Woman's Financial Network, women start businesses at two times the rate of men. While women are starting more businesses than men, they often find it harder to get things going and to sustain them over the long term. What can women do to be more sustainable in the long haul? Business is all about relationships. You have probably noticed that women are more relationship oriented and having that natural bent serves well in the business world. Women tend to be better listeners and develop stronger relationships with customers, clients, and vendors. Developing supportive relationships is also what sustains women. One women I have worked with shares, " Building my business has been about creating a team and investing energy into teach person, knowing that I cannot do all this alone. Men like to be the alpha male and do it themselves. But I need and want to be part of a community." Another women shares. "Mentoring has been crucial for me. I have enjoyed having a female mentor that shows that it is possible for me as a woman to make it." Women need a community and to be with other women entrepreneurs. Fulfillment comes from sharing business, personal, financial and spiritual fulfillment through connections with other like-minded women. Women's support comes from being in a circle, talking, and sharing. In the earliest women's enterprises, this is how it has worked, whether it was quilting bees or canning vegetables in the kitchen. Women have always needed to connect with one another and talk. Women business owners benefit from sharing with each other in many ways including, • Reducing work stress • Confidence building • Self- esteem growth • Laughter • Sharing challenging situations • Life-work balance • Learning from each other Does all this sound good? Here are three suggestions. 1. Find a couple other women who own businesses in your area and set up a regular meeting at a cafe. It is a nice break from work and also can offer support and sharing of resources. 2. Join a women's networking group. Not only will you meet other women but you might benefit from the monthly presentations. 3. Join a facilitated women in business group. This has the benefit of being more focused and committed. Whatever your business make sure you are one of those who succeed in the long run. Find support, find other women to talk to, and once you are successful be a mentor to a new business woman. Being able to give back is the icing on the cake.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

••••••>SEO Tip Of The Day: HTML Validation

Severance and Separation Agreements

Work at Home Moms and Their Bad Rap?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.