Recently I have crossed over to a new season of my life – into the 5 series ( I am already half a century old ) It is a remarkable new chapter and I have reflected quite a bit about how to move forward with authenticity.

One of the the highlights of 50th anniversary is to be “true to myself” or to be “authentic “

The humble and wise USA basketball coach, the late Coach John Wooden, has 7 guiding principles for his life. One of the principles read ” Be True to Yourself “

Dr Paul Tournier , a Swiss physician in the early 20th century, wrote the book ” Meaning of Persons” in 1957. The book stresses that there are 2 parts of an individual, firstly the real Person in us and the Personage which is the outer appearance of us. Dr Paul challenges each one of us to strive to express the real Person and live truthfully.

A book entitled The Top Five Regrets of the Dying – A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing was written by Bronnie Ware, who works as palliative nurse caring for the dying. One of the top 5 regrets of the Dying is ”  I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

So, what does it really mean to be True to yourself?

1. Know yourself – Know your nature, your needs, your dreams, your fears, hopes and your deep desires.
2. Take time to really quiet down and in your stillness, learn to listen to your inner voice, your beliefs, thoughts and real feelings.
3. Be aware and be careful of all the “noise”, the opinions from other people, cultural expectations, family expectations, social influences and religious expectations.
4. Follow your heart, your mind and your soul and do what you think is right. And not what other people expects from you or what other people think it is right for you.
5. Gather the courage to speak up and live up your true passions and dreams.
6. Stop pretending, stop suppressing your feelings and start saying what you need to say.
7. Being true to yourself also means allowing yourself to be happier and simply be yourself regardless of what people think.
8. Always be gentle and kind to yourself. Remember that all of us are imperfect the strive for perfection is a lifelong journey.
9. Practice self compassion and live your life without fear of the voices or rather noises of rejection out there.
10. Learn when to say NO and draw your boundaries especially towards people with Toxic attitudes and nasty intentions towards you.

Having said that, Being True to yourself also requires living by the Universal Truth.

The Universal Truth or Universal values of humanity includes several virtues such as honesty, kindness, responsibility, respectful and care for mankind and the environment.

Therefore An Authentic life and Truth are inseparable.

 ‘This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.’

Quoted by William Shakespeare’s in the play, HAMLET