Embrace Your True Self

Author : Teri Thomas
I hope you will be less sugar and more spice,
and only a little bit nice.
Embrace your crunchiness, girls,
your crustiness, your passions, your selves.
Retain your sparkle, your individuality, your eccentricities…You needn't be ladylike to be a woman,
for being female is complex,
an essence encompassing all that is you…
Kind, thoughtful and generous of heart,
but honest and fierce and resolute.Bobbi LinkletterAt some point in life, women very often lose connection to
their true selves, inner wisdom, voice, spirit. This
process happens through messages given to us by our parents,
religion, education, the media telling us how we "should"
behave, think and feel. Over time, as we incorporate these
messages, we develop our own "inner critic" and lose
connection to who we are essentially. We internalize the
idea that somehow who we really are is not good enough.
This "inner critic" takes over for the outside voices we
grew up hearing. We begin to feel this is how we really
think. Of course, the messages continue and reinforce this
process throughout our lives.As the years pass and we grow into adulthood, we take on the
"appropriate roles" of student, employee, good friend,
girlfriend, wife, mother. There is nothing inherently wrong
with any of these roles as long as they are conscious
choices we make. Unfortunately, too often we take some of
these roles on because we think it is what we "should" do.
When this happens, over time, we move further and further
away from who we truly are. By the time we are fully
entrenched in these roles, we have all but forgotten our
essential selves.On the outside, it may seem like everything is okay. The
busyness of the duties of all the roles numbs us, and we
don't always feel the underlying nagging feeling that
something is wrong; there is something missing. But this
feeling of discontentment inevitably grows inside of us. We
begin to wonder why, when we have so much, we still feel so
empty. Or, the busyness of our lives gets us to the point
where we feel "stressed out". With all of the role
fulfilling busyness, we get even further away from our true
selves. But whenever we get the feeling there is something
more, our "inner critic" kicks in and reminds us of all we
"should" be doing, and we don't have time to take care of
ourselves.Here is the beauty. When you begin to take care of yourself
and get to know who you really are, you will have more
energy to fulfill all of the roles you choose to fill. You
will begin to make conscious choices that are centered
around your deepest priorities.There are three strategies you can apply to your life to
relieve the stress and begin to reclaim your voice. I call
them the three R's: release, reconnect, and radical self
care.Release your inner critic.
This is an important step on the road to "finding yourself"
as they say. You can learn methods of releasing. In fact,
I recommend an excellent book on the subject, The Sedona
Method by Hale Dwoskin.Reconnect to your inner voice of wisdom.
Basically you just need to slow down enough to hear it.
You can begin by just taking 5 quiet minutes per day. You
will want to increase that as time goes on.Begin practicing radical self care.
This is an excellent strategy, as long as we guard it from
becoming another "should". One way to start this is by
blocking out just one hour in the week for yourself to do
something you consider fun. This can also be increased
over time.As you apply these strategies you will begin to embrace
your true self and feel more fulfilled. You will notice
a significant reduction in your stress level and get more
enjoyment out of life.Are you ready to begin living a life that inspires you? Sign up for the complimentary newsletter, Inspirations, at LivingSpiritually.com. Teri Thomas is a spiritual life coach who helps her clients connect with spirit and design their lives around their deepest priorities.
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