How To Be More YOU This Year

When I was growing up and we were starting a new year, my mum would always say ‘Happy New You’ instead of new year. After a while, that became a private eye rolling event between my siblings and I. It was only in growing up and reflecting that I understood the power of the message she was giving us. That there is always an opportunity to be your best self, an opportunity to let down the veil and step into that authentic version of who you really are! It also implied that sometimes through our natural growth and evolution as human beings that we need to check in with ourselves so we can let go of the old, outdated stuff – old patterns and ways of thinking, doing and being.

So, with that in mind, I want to share with you a few things you can think about and do in order to step into your authentic expression and be more of You this year.

What does authenticity really mean here? I am referring to honouring yourself, what truly matters to you and being bold enough to express it.

Being authentic is not a one-way street. I like to think of it as a revolving door between your inner and outer worlds. A dance between the deepest parts of you and the way you express that boldly into the world. 

As such this is not a static approach, instead that dance continues throughout your life as you grow and evolve.

So being more You requires a few things.

Firstly, you need to reflect on who you really are! Ask yourself, what truly matters to me right now? By exploring your values, you can get some clues into who you are beneath the internal conditioning and external expectations. Your values are the significant truths within you that make you YOU.

What truly matters to me is love, service, authentic connection and growth (to name a few of my values) and when I am connected to these, I am much more capable of expressing them through my interactions, my business, relationships and all parts of my life. They are the filter I use to express my inner world into my outer world.

So how about you? What truly matters to you? Take some time to explore this because it can literally change your life.

The second piece is that once you know what matters to you, how do you be bold enough to express it! So many of us have our guards up right? Life has dealt us some big challenges and so we find ourselves hiding from the world in fear of being seen, judged or disliked. I get it! But here’s the thing, don’t you love being around people who are so comfortable in their skin? Don’t we all want to feel accepted for who we are deep down? Yes!

What would it take for you to step into that authentic expression? What if being you, just as you are, is enough? What if by being you more, you inspire others to do the same. I honestly believe that the more we are able to be our best selves in the world the better the world will be! Now I know that what I’m suggesting here is not easy, but let me ask you, how much is it costing you? How long are you willing to go on feeling out of alignment with your higher self? Most things in life that are worth this much, requires us to do the work!

So here’s what I encourage you to do in 6 steps:

1.    Reflect on your values – what truly matters to you. To start, just pick your top 4! It’s important to narrow it down even if you start with a long list.

2.    Pick one area of your life to start (business, relationships, creative expression etc) where you can consciously express from your authentic self.

3.    Create one moment where you can test out this authentic expression. This might be choosing to have a conversation with someone, writing a piece of music, creating a piece of content for your business which all reflect your values.

4.    Connect with those values in the moment. Ask yourself how would I express myself right now if I were more loving, authentically connected, being of service and growing through this experience? Obviously, you would replace my values with your own.

5.    Express that outwardly in a conversation, your art, a service you offer – it’s ok to feel vulnerable; tap into your courage.

6.    Check in with yourself and notice what has changed. Are you feeling more connected? Are your inner and outer worlds more aligned? 

Approaching authenticity is hard work and takes practice. It requires us to peel back layers and heal our wounds. It requires us to be vulnerable and courageous.

The 6 steps I outlined above is just to offer you a practical way to explore and experiment, so that you can exercise your authenticity muscle. So that you be conscious of how you express yourself and make better choices. So that you can be open to the potential of what being your best self really means.

Go out there and make this year a year where you can truly be yourself.

I can’t wait to meet the real YOU!