Project Inner Beauty

What does it mean to be authentic?

There are many definitions of authenticity and the definition I'm referring to is "being yourself"...being true to who you are and being honest with other people. 

My boyfriend and I were flipping TV channels the other night and there were quite a few reality shows that consisted of women arguing and talking smack about each other. 

My boyfriend turns to me and asks, "Why are women like that?  Why are they so nice to your face, but the minute you turn your back, they're talking about what a bitch you are?"
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Has someone ever told you something like, "You'll never find the love of your life until you love yourself first?"  It's true.  It really is.  Many women spend so much time complaining about how the guys they date are jerks and that they can't find "true love".

The fact is, these women are so focused on the guys, they never give any thought to themselves.  They don't work on their own personal development.  They don't even love themselves, so how can someone else show love them?

Over at my other blog, Beauty Is Within, I wrote about choosing love and care for yourself....or check out Better Than Nothing:  A Ten Second Compliment. I like the idea of giving someone else a compliment.  I believe in karma in that when you give, it comes back to you ten-fold!

So this week I encourage you to be a source of love.  Have love for yourself and love for others...Work on accepting who you are and pretty soon you'll find that love will come flowing to you ;)

Photo Credit:  David Goehring

Here's a great article that offers some tips on creating inner beauty that is a highly recommended read.

I like this idea:

"Believe that you have an inner self to explore and that you are willing to let yourself develop your innate talents and gifts."

Many women go through life without exploring their inner self and not knowing who they really are.  They believe what others think that they should be or do all the while losing themselves in the process.

Spend some time with yourself and ask yourself the following questions:

What do I love to do?

What is my purpose in life?

Just let your subconscious dwell on those questions for awhile.  Slowly (or maybe even quickly!) the answers will come to you.

When you're doing what you love and feeling like you're fulfilling your purpose, your inner beauty will begin come out!

Have you discovered your authentic self yet?

From what I've observed of women, I've learned that we all have something in common:  We all want to be happy.  We want to be able to do what we want without scrutiny and judgement.  We just want to follow our bliss.

Now that I've reached my mid-30's, I'm starting to feel more comfortable in my own skin.  I've basically reached the point where I'm fully aware that I always have a choice.  I can choose how I let other people's opinions and feelings affect me.  I can either take their opinions personally or I can just brush it off and forgive them for feeling any resentment towards me.

So what does being authentic mean?

For me, being authentic means honoring the real me.  The real me is a caring and forgiving person.  The real me is on a mission to create more positive vibes in this world.  Most of all, being authentic means being free to live your own life.

Most women play different roles in their lives.  We are career women, wives, sisters, aunts, God-mothers... In these roles there are certain expectations bestowed upon us.  We're supposed to "behave" in certain ways and when we don't live up to those expectations, we disappoint people.  However, sometimes those expectations are in conflict with our own values and desires.  This causes a great deal of emotional upheaval in our lives - a.k.a. "drama"!

And speaking of emotions, in this video, author Melissa Van Rossum reveals the secret to discovering your authentic self...

Check out Melissa Van Rossum's book: All You've Ever Known

Related Post:

Wake Up To Your Authentic Life