Ten years ago when I first set up my business as a new image consultant I began to go to networking events. I hated them, I felt uncomfortable and felt under pressure to sell myself enough to find a new business in just one evening. I used to dress up in a suit which just didn't feel like me which only added to my discomfort.
Then one day it dawned on me, what if I was just to go along and be myself rather than someone I thought I should be. So I ditched the suit for the kind of colourful clothes I loved and started to view networking events as a chance to just make some new friends. I'd always been good at meeting new people so this felt much more natural. Networking suddenly became a whole lot easier and now I actually enjoy it.
This mindset spilled out into the rest of my business and my life, just to be myself. I know it sounds obvious but how often do we put on a front, an act, to try to be something else we thing we should be.
When you are not being truly authentic you can give off mixed messages. Have you ever met someone where something just didn't feel quite right? An example of where I notice it often is when someone is super confident, almost over the top but there comes across an underlying insecurity beneath the surface.
We are all created perfectly unique. We all have our own beauty, individual talents and inner qualities. When we try so hard to be something we are not we are going against the purpose of our lives; which is to just be our true selves and bring our unique gift to the world.
Life just gets easier when we are ourselves, we quit wasting so much energy when we give up trying to be something we are not. Comparison to others and trying to be like them will only ever lead us to living an inauthentic life which can be exhausting and damaging for our Spirit.
One of the magical things about just being yourself is that you start to attract people into your life that are a match for you. Like attracts like.
Since setting up my business ten years ago I have evolved into quite a different person to what I was back then. I was a party girl, spending most weekends out clubbing and drinking. Since discovering personal development, yoga and Spirituality all this has changed, I have different priorities now and a different lifestyle.
The transition to who I am now was an interesting one as I had changed but my friends hadn't, they were leading the same lives but I was following a different path. It can be hard when people are used to you drinking with them to suddenly say "I'll have a water please!". Although not always easy I stuck to my guns and was just open about the changes I was going through, sharing my journey with my friends and finding new ones.
Of course some friendships have fallen by the way side, sometimes in life you just go in different directions, but now I am surrounded by people who really know who I am, what's important to me and we are there for each other.
I have found that by just being me it encourages others to do the same. This is also the purpose of writing this post this morning, to encourage you to just be you. We are all made completely unique for a reason, you have a perfect combination of gifts, qualities and beauty that is just right for you. There is a partner, a job, a lifestyle, a future that is all just right for you. Trying to be someone or thing else will not help you get there, all you need to do is just be yourself.
With lots of love,
