The Authenticity Factor

I spoke to a good friend recently, and she said “Stace, you look so healthy and happy at the moment, what are you doing differently?” I thought she was joking, because I certainly didn't feel that I was looking my best! I was sleep deprived and fuzzy-headed, which comes with the territory when you have a newborn. After she told me she wasn't joking, I said to her, “You know what, I think it’s because I’m finally able to practice what I preach!”.

When I first graduated as a Naturopath, although I was passionate and honest, I didn't truly feel like I was being "authentic". I was preaching about the importance of Vitamin D, yet I was in an office in artificial lighting for 14 hours a day, 5 days a week. I was giving clients handouts on stress reduction strategies, yet I was the most stressed I’ve been in my life! I was educating others about sleep hygiene, yet I was on my computer studying until late every night. I was recommending more time in nature, yet I was in a car, home, gym or office 99% of the time. I was an advocate for sourcing food from local farms or growing your own, yet I was buying most of our food from the local supermarkets. I was doing seminars on environmental toxins, yet the air I was breathing was anything but fresh. I was helping so many couples fall pregnant, yet we were struggling with fertility. You get the gist.

Now, ALL of this was my choice at the time, and I did it with full awareness and acceptance that this was how things were. No regrets.

For the past two years however, things have been very different. I’ve been fortunate enough to do things that actually fill up my health, heart and soul buckets! We grow most of the food we eat, I get fresh air and sunshine every day, I’m in bed early (as much as I can be with a newborn), we get our meat from local farms, I'm no longer sedentary and my stress levels have never been lower (which I really believe has played a huge role in us having two beautiful babies!). What I'm getting at is that I'm living a life that's more closely aligned with my values.I’ve ALSO allowed myself to make mistakes, and as a consequence feel far less pressure to be perfect. The irony (and beauty) of putting a lid on my inner perfectionist and changing our situation, is that I’m MUCH closer to achieving so many personal and professional goals.

When you get the opportunity to actually LIVE what you value, something shifts inside, physically and emotionally.

I think as humans, we have a sixth sense for detecting true authenticity, and that it's what makes us all unique and interesting and imperfectly awesome! Studies also show that people who are more authentic, are generally happier. This is because authenticity is likely to foster the essential psychological resources that give people perspective on any challenges they face, which helps them manage emotional and environmental challenges.