What would it take for you to be willing to share your authentic self with people? To share all that you think and feel with the people in your life. Would you have a fear of judgment or a fear of consequences for telling the truth?
In this episode of Life In Motion, Heather and Jamie sit down to talk about Jamie’s NES full body scan and the damage that comes from hiding your authentic self.
Seems like an easy answer. Of course, I know myself. But can you see the difference between your authentic self and your ego?
As children, we all develop an ego to protect us. No matter how wonderful your childhood was you develop a bodyguard (ego) that steps in to protect you from strangers, embarrassment, pain, and so on. It’s a natural part of your development to help you survive in your environment. As an adult, however, you should have a true authentic self, made up of your values, your feelings, needs, and so forth.
The issue is a lot of us never share that true authentic self. We just keep letting our bodyguard do all the talking until eventually, our authentic self is harder and harder to find.
You likely have some good and some bad core believes from childhood. Maybe your faith is one of your core beliefs that you learned as a child, that’s awesome. But maybe the way you respond to rejection and failure is a core belief from childhood.
Since we develop our bodyguard as a child, it’s helpful to go back and look at your family culture to help identify your core beliefs.
What did the family you grew up in teach you about dealing with the following emotions:
Do you feel like anything that makes you feel weak, betrayed, or rejected is something to be avoided? That only certain emotions are okay to share?
EMOTIONS ARE A GIFT FROM GOD.
Your emotions are a gift from God. They’re just a dashboard of what’s really going on in you. Look at the areas of your life where your bodyguard is stepping in to protect you from your emotions.
Whether you need to be reintroduced or need to meet yourself for the first time, identifying your values, needs, and thoughts is a great place to start. Finding your authentic self starts by traveling inward.
Your internal world includes your thoughts, feelings, values, loves, beliefs, and motivations.
Get honest with yourself. Maybe take a week to journal on each bullet point above. Need a little extra help? Try looking through the Enneagram. You can take the Enneagram test Heather and Jamie mention in this episode of Life In Motion, here.
Already know yourself but need some help setting boundaries? Check out Boundaries don’t have to suck. No matter how hard, don’t give up. Come along with Jamie and Heather as they do the hard work of allowing God to shape them into His image.
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