Posts tagged with "Self-Improvement"

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Better Up: 6 Ways To Be A More Authentic Person

Photo by Edmond Dantès

Want to be your true self or more authentic in more situations? You can! Here are some excellent and valuable tips for being more true every day.

Being authentic means acting in ways that show your true self and feelings. Rather than showing people only a particular side of yourself, you express your whole self genuinely.

However, many struggles with figuring out who they are, expressing themselves openly, and knowing what they want from life. These are big questions, but they do not have to be overwhelming. There are actionable, concrete ways to start finding and more fully expressing your authentic self.

 

How Humanity Lost Their Authenticity

People are constantly balancing inner and outer aspects of themselves to better fit in, to become more successful, or to find love. They are driven to find “their place” in society and want to be respected for who they are and what they have to contribute. Many people are propelled even further, desiring to know and live their purpose, find deeper meaning in their lives, and feel the fulfillment that comes with becoming more authentic. 

But at the same time, humanity lives in a society that values superficiality, strives for perfection, and defines success as by the dollars in their bank account and not by how well they live their values daily. So how can you be authentic despite the messages that try to convince you to be someone else?

Bringing Back One’s Authenticity

To reclaim your authenticity, you need to discover your “Authentic Self”—the self that prioritizes living according to your values, pursuing your purpose, and fighting for the causes you care about. For most of humanity, their Authentic Self is buried deep in their unconscious, which remains hard to identify and let out.

Here are some tips to help you express and find your authentic self.

Tip #1. Take Personal Inventory. Learn to observe yourself like a fly on the wall. Watch yourself as you live in the present moment, observing how your “Adaptive Self” behaves, what it believes, how it reacts under pressure, and how it responds to challenges. Practice noticing which of these responses feel authentic and which ones feel inauthentic. By identifying which responses are adaptive versus original, you can catch the falseness and see the glimmers of truth underneath.

Tip #2. Be Present. Being present with yourself, no matter what is happening around you, is essential to authenticity. Suppose you are constantly distracted by your mental chatter or reacting to external situations if you are unaware of your state of being—practice pausing to check in with yourself regularly and breathe throughout the day. With awareness, you will find ways to express yourself fully and take actions that align with the real you.

Tip #3. Build Your Social Support System. You need to find the courage to say NO to the things and people not serving you if you want to rediscover yourself and live your life authentically. Make a checklist of your social circle once in a while and surround yourself with supportive individuals who lift you. They can inspire you to shine as your true self.

Tip #4. Speak your truth assertively. Improving how you communicate can significantly impact living your authentic life. What you want to say often needs to be clarified in how you say it. Practicing an assertive communication style ensures honest, open conversation while still considering the needs of others. This encourages balanced discussions in which both individuals have a chance to speak. 

Tip #5. Take daily action towards authenticity. Authenticity can feel like an abstract, big concept. But when you look at it, it comes down to your day-to-day activities. Because it is those seemingly little moments, your decisions, actions, and the things you say that make up who you are. Actualizing an authentic life begins with intentional daily planning. 

Tip #6. Take a step back to gain perspective. When you find yourself in a ditch, it does make sense to apply all your brainpower to come up with a solution. But at times, that approach can get you nowhere and lead to a cycle of overthinking. You should take some time off, a day or a week, to do something fun. Taking a break helps you listen to your heart and gut, and the answers flow naturally. A big help on this is The Abba Vision. Abba exists to help individuals experience who they are and who they are meant to be. Check out Abba’s website and explore the ladder of consciousness and the tree of life through the ABBA Tradition.

Are you ready to get real?

Remember who you are at your deepest core; the individual that dances behind closed doors is what the world needs. 

It takes courage to learn how to be authentic. And when you do, you set yourself free and build a life that brings you meaning and joy. It might not happen overnight, but you can get there.

 

Perception Is Reality: 8 Ways For Changing How Others See You

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If you see the glass as half full, you will work from that; at least the glass will always be half full. But what if you turn that adage inside out? What if the fact you are experiencing is partly due to how others perceive you?

A famous brand’s former CEO and Chairman once said, “Leadership is a performance. You must be conscious about your behavior because everyone else is.” This is a good definition of perception.

The question now is, how do you create the “me” you want others to see? How do you change viewpoints?

Viewpoints impact reality. Change how others perceive by following these proven eight (8) tips.

It all begins with behavior. Become aware of your behaviors through the steps below, so you will understand how you are perceived—and how to correct course if needed.

1. Observe how your behavior affects others. Begin by being honest with yourself. Notice how your behavior affects the people around you. How do people react to you? Your conduct may make them feel uncomfortable or pressured. 

2. Ask for feedback. Ask those around you how they see you. It takes a lot of courage, and you may get difficult feedback to accept and hear, but it is an essential step in making a new perception.

3. Make immediate behavioral changes. Once you have some basic information, take those small steps toward behavioral change. If you are the type who usually dominates the conversation in groups or meetings, try keeping quiet and taking notes for a change. If you typically hang back and let others take the spotlight, jot down some important points relevant to the discussed topic and speak up. Perceptions will not change overnight. However, you will start to see that others are reacting adversely.

4. Up your visibility. If you want high visibility, you must do what it takes to become visible. Start by volunteering for high-impact projects. Look for a challenging task that nobody wants to take on and that you know it is vital to the company or your boss. Get involved.  

5. Seek out cross-functional opportunities. Identify opportunities with other sections that will increase your visibility, such as a task force or a project that will allow you to see and be seen by people you would not meet otherwise. Offer to speak to groups or make presentations inside and outside the company.

6. Promote yourself. You might be the perfect employee in the world; however, if your contributions are noticed, it will not matter. It would help if you had people speaking positively about you and your achievements. It means sharing wins openly to raise your visibility and transferring credits with team members and coworkers. Tell success stories and celebrate accomplishments.

7. Seek out advocates. Seek advocates who will speak up on your behalf by looking for ways to expose your work to corporate leaders. Ask for their endorsement and referrals if you work with vendors or clients outside your company.

8. Promote your brand. You can do this in many ways. Branding “You” can involve anything. As it is said, people’s perceptions of you will not change overnight. Once a change is made, it will only sometimes continue that way. Creating a positive perception of yourself takes consistent action and commitment to refine and develop the image you want the world to see. Commit to making this effort, and look out for motivational books that keep you on track, and you will ignite your growth as a leader. If it helps, you can also check out The Abba Tradition by Michael Hattwick. The ABBA Tradition is a way of looking back on, bringing together the scattered parts of your divided self again, a form of rediscovering who you are. The ABBA Tradition understands reality as consisting of four worlds, four realities, or four realms: Physical, Psychological, Transpersonal, and Transcendent. This is the Worldview assumed in Judaism, Christianity, and the emergent civilizations of the western world, including Modern Science. The ABBA Tradition is about remembering all four. Seen as a whole, the four worlds reveal the Tree of Life, the life-giving tree growing in Paradise, in Genesis and Revelation, the first and the final book of the Bible, the beginning, and the end. The depiction of the Tree of Life is a visual metaphor and representation of the four worlds. The ABBA Tradition is a complete tradition that sees God as Father whose scriptures are written in an alphabetic language. Both Judaism and Christianity are forms of this tradition.

 

Final Words

Strategically changing your behaviors can change negative perceptions into positive ones. It is well worth the effort, as it will broaden your sphere of influence and unlock new possibilities for your life and career.

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