How to Be Who You Are

How To Become Who You Already Are 

A practical guide with 10 tips to become an authentic version of yourself

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”  e.e. cummings

It takes also courage to try to be somebody else. Why? Because trying to be who you are not is an attempt that you will never succeed in. How can you anyway? So instead of choosing a stressful life in trying to be somebody else it makes great sense to just stick with who you truly are.

Many people though are very confused about their own identity. For way too long they have tried to fit in the general world of a perceived normality. Childhood passions, dreams, and the sense of an inner voice or an inner feeling has been buried beneath many layers of all kind of experiences. But somewhere deep inside you there is still a core of true potential that waits patiently for its discovery. Are you ready to break the walls and let it out?

Here is my practical guide to become who you really are:

1. Enjoy yourself! There is nothing more true to you than doing what you like. Make sure you have plenty of fun in your life. People who laugh a lot are usually healthier, less stressed and certainly a lot truer to who they are than the ones that take everything too seriously. What do you love doing? What did you like when you were a child? Maybe you enjoy drawing, singing, or diving into different worlds of fantasy books. Whatever it is that you would enjoy, give it some time to come forward.

2. Exercise regularly! Your life is probably already stressful enough with all the things you have to do. You really can’t afford your body to be weak. Exercising can be as easy as a fast walk around the block, walking instead of taking car, or the sun salutation (Yoga Exercise) every morning to start the day. If you rather prefer activities with other people, there are plenty of classes available that strengthen the body and are fun at the same time. I am sure there is something you like in your area too. Maintaining your body with exercising also helps you to get back in touch with your true potential. You might start feeling much stronger to stand up for yourself.

3. Get fresh air! When have you been out in nature the last time? Trees, birds, a lake, a river, the sea, or even a park can have a huge effect on who you are in just noticing the beauty around you. This way you get back in touch with nature and so with your own true nature. Being outdoors can make you feel alive and even more it might help you to experience the state of just being you.

4. Have good food! Food is important, it is the fuel for your body. Similar to a car, you can’t expect your car going for 500 miles with only 10 litres of petrol.  So make sure you eat when you feel hungry and stop when you are full. Our body is quiet assertive, but often we choose not to acknowledge the signals. So when you feel like chocolate, have some. Have a pizza or chips, if you have an appetite for it. But try to eat it slowly and consciously without distractions. This way you are more likely to notice when your body says, that’s enough. Once you have reestablished this communication you have also moved closer to who you really are.

5. Drink plenty of water! You probably know that about sixty percent of our body consists of water. So this wonderful fluid is used to help our body and even our mind  to function properly. If you are thirsty, have a glass of water before you drink sweet sodas, juices or hot drinks. And here again, drinking plenty of plain water is like maintaining your body and making sure that the vessel of your soul is in its best condition to be who you are.

6. Rest when you feel tired! Sometimes it is better to stop pushing yourself. Have an early night, if you feel exhausted. You probably feel much better the next day. It is quiet common to have periods of seemingly unlimited energy and other times of feeling low and challenged by the slightest activity. To level out this imbalance it is wise to listen to your body signals. The more you act upon this communication the sooner you will notice a smoother interval of your energy level and you also become closer to who you truly are.

7. Avoid media news! All kinds of news are usually bad ones. How can we be who we are while the world is falling apart? Well, the good news is, the world is not falling apart at all. Once you stop to flow of information about all the terrifying things that are happening in the world, your own world becomes much more peaceful. Yes there are wars, and yes there is an economic crisis, but there are many countries in which is peace and there are many businesses they do very well even today. Once we stop looking at the bad stuff we have actually some space to notice the good things happening all the time. This way we quickly learn that being who we are can bring us much further, because we  also consciously decide to look out for the good things.

8. Accept your choices! We are in a world of variety. There are so many things we can do, could have done, or might do in future. The choices are so overwhelming that we feel almost trapped in the ones we have made earlier in our life. But are we really in a trap? Once you accept that you have made a decision with the best knowledge you had at the time , you are actually in the position to see how this choice can now serve you. What did you learn? What did you gain? How did this decision influence your life? And what can you do with all these experiences now? Everything is good for something and it is much more fun to find out what an experience has been good for than beating yourself up for what could have been.

9. Start saying NO! When something doesn’t feel right even though it sounds like something straight from heaven, say NO. If you are full, stop eating. If you don’t want another drink, stop drinking. If you can’t help, then you can’t. It is important to say NO to others, if this is the only way to say YES to yourself. Again just look through the other points above. It is really all about you. Without you being in your best form and happy, how can you ever serve somebody else? To be who you are is also to rather stand up for yourself than for others.

10. Get support! Who did tell you, that you have to do all on your own? Why does it seem so hard to ask for support? Everybody deserves help and I assume even you would love to help others. There is almost a need for us to be in service of others. So when you feel stuck in your life or when you feel there isn’t any way out of the challenges you are facing, get the support that is being offered. There are brilliant people out there who can help you with emotional healing, stress related issues, achieving goals, and successfully reach the state of being who you are.

by Sandy Seeber – May, 2012 More articles by Sandy Seeber

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