Living from your truth: The key to authenticity

And when you stand in integrity, you are powerful — your words carry authority, your efforts bring success and your life becomes a beacon that lights the way for others to follow.

by Ada Porat — 

Your core obligation in life is to be true to yourself. Being truthful with others requires being truthful with yourself first.

This means that you need to align with your inner truth so you can stand in integrity. And when you stand in integrity, you are powerful — your words carry authority, your efforts bring success and your life becomes a beacon that lights the way for others to follow.

Being true to yourself also means that you need to live by your core values at all times, especially when you do not feel like it.

How do you know your core values? You will always know whether or not you are honoring your core values by how you feel about yourself.

When you slip out of alignment, you just do not feel right inside. You may wish you had handled a situation differently, had kept quiet instead of blowing up or had taken a stand instead of wimping out.

When you are true to your core values, you feel good about yourself — comfortable in your skin. It feels like you are on the right path, operating in your sweet zone. When living from your core values, you treat people with respect, take the appropriate action and respond to life with an open mind.

Of course, this is not always easy. At times, you may be tempted to compromise, yielding to peer pressure or someone else’s values — whether a friend, relative or authority figure. When this happens, you will not feel at peace within, no matter how hard you try to ignore your conscience.

The good news is that you can correct your course by choosing another response that honors your true values. Other temptations can keep you from living from your core values as well. For instance, if you have a life goal to achieve but you are not taking any steps toward it, you are betraying your truth.

You may try to justify the lack of commitment, but your heart will betray all the excuses you make. Deep down, you will know that you are letting yourself down, and it will not feel good.

When this happens, simply check to see where you have compromised your core values and come back into alignment with your truth. Perhaps you need to turn around, forgive yourself and others, and choose again.

Find out what you need to do to get back to that sweet spot, and then do it. You will become more authentic in the process.

Ada Porat is an energy kinesiologist and life coach who helps people live their best lives. 602-283-4628 or AdaPorat.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 32, Number 2, April/May 2013.