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Category: Identity

On Being Unapologetically Yourself

3 Important things happen when you’re NOT unapologetically yourself:

  1. Inner conflict arises because who you are and how you’re presenting are in opposition.
  2. You attract people into your life who vibe with your mask.
  3. You repel people who don’t vibe with your mask (who might be attracted to your authentic self).

3 Important things happen when you ARE unapologetically yourself:

  1. You get to be your unapologetic self (no masks).
  2. You attract people into your life who vibe with the real you.
  3. People who don’t vibe with you will continue on their way.

3 Important things to remember when you are in the midst of being unapologetically yourself:

  1. Not everyone will like it. Good. The ones who don’t—aren’t your tribe (even if you thought they were). Keep vibing unapologetically. Your real tribe won’t make you apologize for being you.
  2. Not everyone you attract will be good additions to your tribe. You’ll need to keep firm boundaries up against energy vampires, energy manipulators, and toxic types.
  3. Attraction works two ways. Don’t just wait for everybody else to attract to you. Take the initiative and follow the flow of your attractions. Sometimes, being unapologetically yourself involves being quiet, shy, and reserved. The same is true in others. Take more risks and reach out to people who you think you’d vibe really well with. Somebody has to take the initiative—might as well bring the control back into your court and let that somebody be you.

I love when my words make people “pensive.” Thank you for the kind words and coffee. This post is dedicated to you. ☕️

Inner Roadway [Poem]

Understand who you are
By writing down
Everything you are not
And never want to be

Let each list item
Act as a guardrail
That turns vast landscape
Into paved and pointed roadway

Paid In Full [Poem]

What we pay for in attention
We purchase in identity

What we consume by choice
We create from inevitably

The person we see today
Is a byproduct of yesterday

And who we'll be tomorrow
Is paid in full each day—invariably

Being Yourself Comes First

If you’re having a hard time being yourself, rather than question yourself (what’s wrong with me?!), question everything else.

Being yourself shouldn’t require effort. It should never beget self-consciousness.

Being yourself should be effortless. It’s what comes from an absence of self-consciousness.

Being yourself is you in your raw, pure, and untainted state.

If what’s coming from you isn’t that—then it’s because of a factor that’s foreign to you.

That foreign element is making you (or has made you feel) reserved, fearful, and doubtful.

Question who or what that source might be (or has been):

  • Are you interacting with people who are hyper critical and demeaning?
  • Is the work you’re doing demanding that you act a certain kind of way?
  • Are you being influenced too heavily (brainwashed) by media and TV?

Once you’ve identified what foreign elements are causing you internal conflict—remove as many of those influences from your life as you can.

Anything that moves you away from yourself should be removed (or at least mitigated) from your life without hesitation.

And anything that makes you feel more yourself should be more included in your life without hesitation.

Nothing in life goes well when you’re not able to be yourself.

Being yourself comes first.

The Cost Of Travel

You can travel 5,000 miles, hike to the top of 100 mountains, lounge at 50 beaches, sail all seven seas, and step foot in every country of the world…

And still not find yourself.

Sometimes outward exploration becomes synonymous with inward exploration.

But, self-discovery isn’t always the byproduct of travel.

Inward reflection is where “selves” are found.

And inward reflection doesn’t cost a thing. No planning required. No time off work needs to be submitted.

You simply need to create space for stillness.

You know, the same way you would when you step into an awe inspiring scene of nature.

See, travel can be used as a hack that elicits stillness, but don’t get it twisted…

Stillness is available to you every day. And waiting until you travel far-and-wide before you explore your inner workings is a costly way to live.

Better to create some space, put on some noise-cancelling headphones, and start doing some of that inner exploring today.

Creation Renewed

Creating is self-expression in its rawest form.

We take already expressed things from the world, mix and mash them up with our ideas, and end up with a never before expressed thing that we get to share.

Which is why, the ultimate win from a creation is a renewed desire to create.

Because self-expression isn’t something that’s ever done—it’s as living and as breathing as we are. And the more we create—the more we express ourselves—the better we get to know ourselves.

It’s also our creations that act as the very foundation of our legacies—what better way to be remembered than by referencing what we uniquely expressed?

With that in mind, here are some gentle reminders for you to keep in your back pocket as you continue to create:

  • Treat “success” cautiously—it leads to contentment and distractions.
  • Treat “failure” cautiously—it leads to frustration and disappointment.
  • Both success and failure can improve the creating process, but they often lead us astray.
  • With each experience, the ultimate goal should be to quickly discard what isn’t useful, carefully apply what is, and return to the work humbly and with a deeper understanding (of ourselves and our work) than before.
  • If the byproduct of what you’re creating is leading you further and further from creating—something is probably wrong.

Remember, the ultimate loss from a creation is an extinguished desire to create.