Understanding Yourself Will Help You Become Authentic
The various writers, speakers and products of the
self-help industry all have one theme in common ── every person can take
responsibility for changing and building their lives. That's a great start, but
what most of the strategies and ideas proffered have lacked has been guidance
in helping their students and readers come to grips with their true inner
selves.
They have been great at helping people improve
their self images, build stronger egos, identify ways to motivate themselves,
and design strategies for personal goal attainment. But what they usually did
not provide were tools and strategies for developing a better rapport with, and
deeper understanding of, one's spiritual self.
As the late Dr. David Simon, co-founder of the Chopra
Center, wrote, "The self-image or
ego is what we hold to be true about ourselves and what we want others to
believe about us. Most people believe they are their self-image and, therefore,
diligently strive to protect it. In
defense of our image, we imprison our spirit."
Self understanding will help you become authentic
and remain authentic in the large majority of your actions. And you want to be
authentic. According to Dr. Simon:
Authenticity is an
alignment between your beliefs, your desires and your choices in the world.
Desires change throughout
the course of a life, but agreement between ideals, aspirations and deeds is
key to a life of peace, happiness and success. When you act in ways unlikely to
fulfill your genuine desires, you experience the inner friction of a life out
of alignment.
Desires that are in
alignment with core beliefs generate powerful actions. Like a wave that draws
from the depths of the ocean, actions connected to your authentic self are more
likely to manifest your intentions.
In his book The
Ten Commitments, Dr. Simon goes on to explain:
Choices that are in
alignment with what we know, feel and believe to be true generate a natural
sense of ease and confidence. When we allow distractions to intervene between
our core values and the choices we make in the world, our energy is depleted.
These distractions become false idols that block access to the divine.
The
two underlining principles of Dr. Simon's thinking on authenticity are
straight-forward:
Being authentic means
assuming the responsibility for writing the story of your life.
Committing to authenticity
means taking responsibility for what you choose to do and what you choose not
to do.
Chapter
two of his book The Ten Commitments
is devoted to the concept of "A Commitment to Authenticity" and is
well worth reading.
This article is excerpted from the Amazon top-selling personal development book Project You: Living A Determined Life, available in Kindle and paperback formats.
