What Does it Mean to be Your Authentic Self?
Written by: Sarah Tricker Alchemy, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Authentic self is a buzz term that has been floating around for a while now. What does it actually mean when people ask if you are your authentic self? Are we not ourselves all the time? Does this not, therefore, make us authentic?
I always thought I was my authentic self. However, the older I got, the more I realized that perhaps I was showing different versions of myself in different situations within my life.
It is true that as a woman, there are many roles that I have within my life. I began to realize that these roles were like masks that I wore. Wow, did this get draining? I would have to remember to switch the masks dependent on the space and people I was with. Maybe you can relate to this? Sometimes, when tired and too much to do accidentally, I might put the wrong mask in the wrong situation!
When I was young, there were not too many ways that my masks got mixed up. I was a daughter, student, worker, girlfriend, sister; all of these roles played nicely together, easily switching with no real conflicts.
Oh boy, did the trouble begin as I hit my late 30’s? I had so many roles in my life! At this particular time, I was a mother of two, a wife, still a daughter, a high school social studies teacher, and a tarot reader, to name but a few. This is where the contending loyalties really began to show how I was not my authentic self.
It really began when I was gaining my education degree and joined the Alberta Teaching Association. There was an immense amount of pressure placed on the responsibility of being a teacher, the higher standard we are held too, rightly so too. I also lived in a community where, shall we say, the esoteric ways of thinking were classed as ‘woo-woo.’ I want to make it known how hard I had worked to get my education degree whilst being a mother of two young children. Now I have a job where my core beliefs are being called into question! This was an internal struggle that I was having!
The gift has been in the familial side of the family for five generations, perhaps longer. I now found myself in a situation where I had to hide my core beliefs. I loved being a teacher, and you must understand teaching is not about pushing your core beliefs. It’s about teaching curriculum. Yet how do I teach from the heart when I am hiding a whole side of myself?
How do you know when you are not your authentic self? There are parts of you that are hidden from others! I saw it so clearly at this point in my life. I took dramatic leaps of faith to be my authentic self fully. I left my secure teaching job to become an entrepreneur starting my own business.
Let me be clear here. I am not saying that you do not adjust how you ACT in different situations. When I am with children, I don’t swear like a sailor as I do when I am with my friends. Authenticity is about who you are at your core and being that person everywhere you go!
Four Steps to Becoming Your Authentic Self
Step 1: Take a look at your life and ask the question, "Are you hiding parts of yourself from others?"
Step 2: Begin the change slowly. Made a new friend or started a new job? Start the relationships being your true self from the get-go!
Step 3: Gain confidence. Begin to remove situations within your life where you can’t be your authentic self!
Step 4: Open up to friends and family. Maybe the hardest part of the journey! Those who love you will accept you as you are and those who don’t leave room for new people to enter your life!
Personally, my life is so much more than I could have ever imagined now I am my authentic self. When I left teaching and started my business, I looked back at my coming out as the person I always was. I don’t have to put on and remove different masks depending on where I am. I am me wherever I go!
Are you ready to join me?
Follow Sarah on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and visit her website for more info!
Sarah Tricker Alchemy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Sarah Tricker Alchemy is a change-maker and has the ability to see what lies in the unseen and unexplained. After realizing her dream to become an educator, Sarah soon understood she herself was not fulfilling her life purpose. In 2016 she began the journey of entrepreneurship and had been forging her way to true authenticity. Sarah is a Public Speaker & Spiritual Empowerment Coach helping women who are in transition within their life. With her gift as a healer, she facilitates women in finding their authentic selves as well as their life purpose. Every moment is a miracle, and there is always opportunity even when you cannot see it.
