“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, which frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” (Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love)
Your Authentic Self
Let me then start by asking: Who do you bring to work each day? Do others get the full you, or do you shelve some part of yourself when you head out the door? Important questions! For, authenticity in corporate life has to do with offering your unique gifts and talents to others and encouraging them to do the same. As you commit to unveiling your real self, you inspire others to undergo their own emergence. If even one person bumps up their voltage, everyone is enabled to bring greater clarity to work.
As Marianne Williamson’s quote attests, you already are all that you seek. Your yearned-for qualities are part of you, not separate. As such, your journey in life is about uncovering plus reclaiming ‘Who You Really Are’ (i.e., your essential joy, creativity and possibility). It’s not about trying to become somebody else.
Personal Mastery
Couple authenticity with what science is now proving. Namely, our thoughts create our reality. In addition, what we focus on expands. Given we have about 45,000 thousand thoughts per day (some even suggest 60,000), can you imagine the electricity unleashed if all of us were to focus our power on positivity in the workplace?
I believe it’s Einstein who speculated that even the most advanced thought leaders of our time tap only 2% of their potential. Wow! If it’s true (and it is) that people constantly pick up on the energy you emit, what frequency do you broadcast daily? Does your ‘signal’ align with what you want to attract into your life and what you want to offer to others in the business context surrounding you?
The Top Ten List
Yes, we come back to the repeated message: Change begins with us. Isn’t it Gandhi who declared, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”? If so, then this involves turning the mirror of examination once again upon ourselves.
Therefore, please consider this month’s Top Ten list as my set of provocations asking you to reflect upon your authenticity plus how you demonstrate personal mastery.
- To what extent do you live according to your inner truth?
- How would you describe your authentic self (values, needs, motivations)?
- To what degree do you bring your best self to work?
- How much of your time do you spend in negativity versus optimism?
- Do you stop during the day to notice what you’re thinking and feeling?
- Do you regularly examine your behavior plus impact on others?
- Are you prepared to release self-imposed restrictions that no longer serve you?
- To what extent are you prepared to upset the status quo?
- What messages from your past are standing in the way of your unique destiny?
- Are you ready to reclaim your true power?
Parting Reflections
As a new era dawns around the globe, evidence of people’s quest for renewal is to be found everywhere. It’s located, for example, in a burgeoning interest to discover and create lives of individual meaning and purpose.
In this sense, it becomes vital to create nurturing spaces where we can listen to the still voice within that invites us to step into our bigger purpose on the planet. In so doing, we gain new understanding that allows us to reclaim, integrate and celebrate our Authentic Self.
Another way to “unleash your spirit” is to engage in fill-in-the-blank exercises of the sort that follow. Enjoy!
I am _____________.
I keep being drawn to ___________.
I shine when ____________.
I would like to change in the world _________.
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