Authentically Showing Up | Being True to Yourself
In this episode, I explore the power of showing up authentically in our lives. I discuss the importance of being true to ourselves and how it can help us to live a more meaningful life.
I also share the ideas of Brene Brown's books, "Braving the Wilderness" and "The Gifts of Imperfection," and how they can help us to be more authentic. Join me as I explore the power of being true to ourselves and how it can help us to live a more fulfilling life.
Resources:
Braving the Wilderness-Brene Brown https://a.co/d/5P9p9Dc
The Gifts of Imperfection-Brene Brown https://a.co/d/cZVEj7x
Connect with me:
Website: HeySoulSista.org
Follow on IG: @SoulSistaBotanica
Follow on TikTok: @SoulSistaBotanica @IamAjahLee
Episode 4 Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:03 Hey y'all. Welcome to Mindfully Yours. I'm your host Ajah and on this show we talk about all things mindfulness, wellness, loving ourselves, and the journey to showing up authentically as who we are in this crazy world. This podcast is a safe space where we can vibe and chill and chat for a minute about real stuff to help you heal, grow, and evolve into the person you are meant to be in this life. Thank you for being here and I hope y'all can feel all the love and hugs. I am sending your away. Welcome to Mindfully Yours. Let's go ahead and get into it.
Speaker 1 00:00:51 Welcome back y'all, to mindfully yours, episode four. Thank y'all for being here with me. And on today's episode, we're talking all about authentically showing up as who we are in this world. And boy is that a difficult concept to wrap our minds around. And I say that because we ultimately have a choice to let our true selves be seen. We make the conscious decision every time we walk out the door, every time we post on social media, every time we have a conversation with someone, we make a conscious decision whether we want to be seen by them. And what I mean by being seen by them is being who we truly are, our personality, our beliefs, our values. We bring everything to the table and we just lay it there for the other person to see no matter how they feel, no matter how they perceive it. It's subconscious effort of being who we are behind the scenes as well as in front of everyone. It's being in a space of vulnerability. It's letting your guard down, not fearing the judgment from others, not worrying about anyone else but our own comfort. It is truly stepping into a room and owning who we are without thinking about what that person in the corner is. Thinking of what I just said or how is that other person feeling about what I'm wearing today? Or should I have said that?
Speaker 1 00:02:40 We have so much fear of being seen for who we truly are. We dim our light, we disconnect from who we are. We no longer know who we truly are at our core, cuz our values no longer matter because we're worried about other people's values. Our values take a backseat and ultimately we're wired, completely hardwired to stay safe, to stay safe and be unseen, be unheard, and protect ourselves from judgment. Now at one point in our lives, we did not have that fear. We were a child born into a world experiencing it for the first time. We weren't worried about that kid at school and what they thought. We just kind of did our own thing.
Speaker 1 00:03:39 Then as life happened and we experienced more experiences, all of a sudden we wanted to hide ourselves and protect ourselves and not allow anyone else's perception of us to de deter how we felt. We started to prioritize everyone else's needs, their comfort over our own. If it came a people pleasing on autopilot because we didn't. We didn't recognize the shift from valuing ourselves to valuing other people and their opinions. So every time we walk into a space, we are hardwired to dim our light, forget who we are, make the other people comfortable. We fit in and adapt to the environment. So if someone says something we don't quite like, we're not gonna necessarily say that we don't like it. We may not say anything at all because we don't wanna make that other person uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 00:05:01 I've felt all of these things at one point or another in my life. I dimmed my light so far that I forgot who Aja was. It was like I was trapped in a deep dark hole and I could see the light at the top just a little bit, but I didn't know how to get there. I con I would continuously enter rooms as someone, but not me. I would continuously quiet myself for the comfort of others cuz I was afraid of my opinion and my beliefs hurting someone else. But I was only really hurting myself because I wasn't allowing myself to share who I was with anyone.
Speaker 1 00:06:00 My relationship suffered because I didn't know who I was and they didn't really know who I was either. My career suffered because I was afraid of speaking up. I was afraid of being seen. So I just kind of blended in with the walls and the corners and the furniture I just kept to myself. I would walk into rooms with my head down to avoid being seen. I was scared to be seen. I didn't want to be seen. I was afraid that if I was seen, somebody wouldn't like me. But truly I didn't like me. It wasn't about them. It was more so liking me. I didn't value myself enough to allow myself to be seen.
Speaker 1 00:07:15 And at some point, all of that shifted. I began to heal and I began to connect with who I truly was. I started to learn me my likes, my dislikes, my values, my beliefs. I started to form a relationship with myself and understand who I wanted to show up as. I started to recognize that I deserved to be seen, not because I needed to put on a show because I deserved to just step into a room and be myself without worrying about anything else but my happiness and my joy. It doesn't matter what they think. It doesn't matter if their opinion is different from mine. That's okay. That comes with life. But what I'm not gonna do is mute myself for the comfort of others. We're gonna have the conversation. Oh, and you best believe I'm gonna walk in that room with Beyonce energy.
Speaker 1 00:08:39 I'm not fearful of you seeing me. I'm not dimming my life for the satisfaction of others when I show up and allow myself to be seen. I give other people permission to allow their selves to be seen. So yeah, I grew. I learned me and how to show up as me. I became mindful of my interactions and my perceptions being projected onto others. I embraced my drinks. I became mindful of the interactions that I had with others and how my perception was a projection onto them. I started to think, well, I can show up as me and embrace my strength of being funny. Aja being goofy, Aja being a good time. Aja. People deserve to see that. And for one, if they don't like my jokes or they don't like how goofy I am, it's okay because I'm only worried about me and pleasing me.
Speaker 1 00:09:57 I'm not worried about pleasing you. So I'm gonna get this dad joke off and laugh and have a good old time. And if you're not laughing, that's okay. But I'm gonna do me and I'm gonna let go of those dirty looks and the things that you're doing in that corner. That's fine. Do you, I'm having a good time right here. I'm not gonna allow your discomfort of what I'm doing to stop me from being me because I deserve to be seen. I allow my authentic self to be seen. I allow myself to shine as bright as I'm meant to shine.
Speaker 1 00:10:39 So I challenge you to think when you walk in a room, are you showing up as you or are you showing up as the watered down version of you? How can you show up authentically as who you are in this world without worrying about those other people? What are your strengths and your values? What matters to you? And how are you honoring those values and strengths? As we close out today, I just want you to take a deep breath in and out and say these affirmations with me. I am enough just as I am. I speak my truth without fear.
Speaker 1 00:11:52 I am my own secret sauce. I have got the juice when I am authentic. Doors open for me as you maneuver the space of showing up authentically as who you are. There are some books I would love to recommend for you to read as you journey back home to yourself. And y'all know I love Brene Brown. So I've got two Brene Brown books. I've got the Gifts of Imperfection and braving the Wilderness. So go ahead and check those out, read through them, message me on Instagram and tell me how you feel about them. Share with me how your journey's going. And if you need support as you show up as you in this world, please don't be afraid to message me. You're not alone. You are seen and you are felt. And I commend you for having the courage to show up in this world as you. That's our show for this week. Thank you for listening to Mindfully Yours. You can find all the resources and links from this episode in the show notes. And if you enjoyed this episode, which I know that you did drop a rating and review, let the people know how much you enjoyed it. And then go ahead and follow us on Instagram at Soul Sista Botanica. We'll see y'all next time.
