Authenticity Requires a Little Daring

Better to fail daring greatly than never daring at all…

I’ve frequently used this as a motto to inspire me to take big leaps, and I’ve taken quite a few big leaps! However, it strikes me that little leaps are just as important, and possibly just as daring.

I recently had the opportunity to share a bit of my deeper self. Instead I held back for fear of it not being the appropriate time, too soon, too out there. I was listening to a lot of voices in my head that weren’t my own. You know those voices, they are echoes of our friends, parents, and society. It was one of those picket fence moments. Be me or water myself down. I played it safe and watered myself down. I gave the “voices” more power, than myself. Now I’m kicking myself a bit because this isn’t how I want to live my life anymore.

I’ve been working on being more authentically me in every encounter. You think that would be easy, right? Just be yourself. But it’s not. It requires shaking off a lifetime of social conditioning – stories I was told and beliefs I bought into. It also requires being willing to be vulnerable and imperfect (gulp, right?).

I’m learning, though, that being authentic is a huge act of self love. It means that honoring myself has finally become more important than fitting in or earning someone else’s approval. When I’m authentically me, especially in the sticky, sometimes tricky moments, I’m telling myself I matter, that I am worry of my own love and respect. 

And so the timing of this moto’s appearance is so sweet and so perfect. It gave me opportunity to reassess and reaffirm how I want to live my life. Most of all, it reminded me that being authentic IS “daring greatly.”