“Help! I’m lost!”: 3 Keys to Find Your Way Back to Your True Self
Through the peaks, valleys and sheer drop-offs of life, it can be easy to become lost.
I’m not talking about veering from the path that society or your family has set for you. I’m talking about getting disconnected and far far away from your true, authentic self.
This might be the you who you used to be. The person who knew what he or she wanted and went for it. The you who was clear, confident and self-aware.
Maybe you haven’t felt this way since you were a young child. Perhaps you’ve never ever felt in touch with the real you.
It happens to all of us from time to time. And it can happen so easily.
In the course of life you can become caught up in the day to day dramas, let downs, fears, hopes, successes and achievements…and forget who you really are.
“Why is knowing the “real me” important?”
You might wonder why it is worthwhile to spend any time or energy figuring out whether or not you are lost, who your true self is and other philosophical-sounding endeavors.
Believe it or not, staying in touch with the real you can make a HUGE difference in the quality of life you lead.
When you are cut off from your true self, even success and the good things in life are slightly drab and unfulfilling. You may look around at all that you have– relationships, money, job, possessions– and wonder how you can feel so empty when you are surrounded by so much.
As challenges and bumps in the road come along– which they tend to do from time to time– being disconnected from the “real you” deprives you of the tenaciousness and boost you need to move through these difficulties with as much ease as possible.
Being out of touch with your true self is merely existing and going through the motions of life, not fully living it.
It’s kind of like drawing water from a well that has somehow become clogged and blocked. You can probably scoop up a bit of moisture and maybe even fill a small pail, but there’s so much more that’s available to you.
You just have to remove the blocks and get down to it.
3 Keys to Re-connecting with the “Real You”
#1) Set aside regular time to listen deeply.
Make it part of your daily routine to open up to your authentic self. This might involve meditation, prayer or simply sitting quietly.
Mentally lay down your to-do lists and stream of thinking. Turn off the computer, the television and the phone for a short period of time.
Set aside just 5-10 minutes every single day to become quiet and breathe deeply. Listen deeply to what comes up during and just after this quiet time. Give yourself the chance to settle into this new habit.
It might not even be words or some booming voice from within that you hear. Instead, you may come away with an inner guidance and knowing that it’s time for you to make a particular change, re-prioritize some aspect of your life or to keep going on the path that you’re on.
#2) Pay attention to what stirs you.
Have you ever heard a song, watched a movie or read a passage in a book that stirred you? The image, scene or sound might have moved you to tears or laughter, sensually or in other ways.
Begin to recognize it when some activity or experience in your life stirs you. Especially if you are charged up and excited by what you’re doing, take notice. Depending on what your preferences are, you might also be stirred by that which evokes a feeling of peace and wellness.
This will be different for every person.
Whether it’s heart-pumping, high adrenaline movement or deeply calming and peaceful movement does not matter. What is most important is that you pause when you feel moved from within.
This is also an indication that you were tapped in to the real you.
#3) Know that you can re-connect with your authentic self anytime and anywhere.
You might have heard stories about or known people who “found” themselves and ended up quitting their jobs, leaving their families and moving away to some exotic place to live in an exotic way.
This may or may not be what you choose to do at some point in your life.
You could literally re-connect with the real you and not change one thing about where you live, work, with whom you live and what you do in your free time. This could all be an internal shift that doesn’t “disrupt” anything about your present life.
In such a scenario, the way you live your usual life would be anything but the same, however. Because you are connected with your authentic self, you would experience all of these “old” people and experiences in vastly new and improved ways.
Are you ready to live your life more fully and in line with who you truly are? If so, take a first step back to you.
