The media emphasises anything but authenticity. We are told that satisfaction is found outside ourselves, and we have forgotten how to find joy in simply being ourselves. In a world where we are told to be slim, beautiful, and successful, what does it mean to be real?
My journey has been one of self-discovery. My healing has brought me to who I really am on the inside so that I am at peace with myself. The way I see it, the aim is to return to who we were before the cultural pressure from our parents, siblings, and life pressured us to become what is unnatural to us. Being real means letting go of the expectations of others so that we can simply be who we are. It means being happy in our own skin, being honest with ourselves, finding our truth and learning to have integrity in our motivations and decisions.
Being real is to express what is inside rather than mimicking others; it means not having to think about our words to gain approval before expressing them. But this does make us vulnerable to the judgement of others.
Personally, I find being myself easy nowadays, but it can be stressful in public. Most people struggle to be authentic and can find my authenticity threatening. In fact, it is downright painful at times to be myself in public. In a world which is hiding itself, to be authentic can cause offence. Honesty can bring out aggression from some.
We hide our real selves in fear of being hurt. But when we are honest, our words resonate with others, and naturally bring them out. This can mean openness, or an expression of anger as they are challenged to reveal who they are under their skin. We are a complicated mix of the expectations of our parents, siblings, friends, and colleagues.
Despite the threat of misunderstanding, authenticity has brought me deep joy. There is a freedom in expressing what is within my heart, it brings me alive. This is where my weight loss journey started. I had been under the illusion that I was bad at the core to have become obese, so I had to be something different to change.
However, I have found it to be the other way. I was looking to food as a comfort for my lack of self-acceptance. Self-acceptance and authenticity gave me permission to lose weight because I was okay just as I was.
Hear this – to lose a lot of weight, we must unlearn what we have been taught and learn to listen to ourselves.
Message me if you want to chat.
In love, Jenny.
