Julia Reese and the Journey to Authenticity

I originally intended for this week’s blog post to focus on kindness, but I decided to push that topic to next week, after having thought a lot about authenticity and wanting to share that with you all.

Authenticity is is not about conforming to the mold designed by society, it is about staying true to yourself. Being authentic is about being real.

Be yourself – not your idea of what you think someone else’s idea of yourself should be. ~Henry David Thoreau

Personally, I don’t feel I change who I am to please others, but sometimes I hide who I am at heart. I get so caught up in striving for perfection that I forget to embrace who I am. I fight this battle with myself because I know that I am a unique individual who was not made to blend in, but there are still days when I find myself doubting who I am and what I am doing.

The featured image for this blog post was taken recently when I was with a close friend. Nothing about the image is perfect or staged. I have messy hair, a face mask on my face without any makeup on, and I’m dressed in casual clothes, but the joy I have is evident.

The lock screen on my phone gives me a daily reminder that, “A beautiful thing is never perfect.” I think of that as a reminder to embrace the glorious mess that I am. I am so far from perfect, but perfection is not a reachable, attainable goal of mine. My goal is to live authentically.

Live authentically. Why would you continue to compromise something that is beautiful to create something that is fake? ~Steve Maraboli

The word “journey” is in the title of this blog post because authenticity is a journey. Keep in mind that on days when you conform, the journey continues, and you can aim to be more authentic tomorrow.

Over the past week, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how I want this blog and this ministry to positively impact the lives of others. I’ve also been thinking about how this blog and this ministry will always be a work in progress. I will probably never have a beautiful, branded, and perfect blog, and that’s alright.

This blog post, for example, is real, raw, and authentic, and although it could use some editing, it is a perfectly imperfect creation cultivating authenticity.

Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen. ~Brene Brown

Enough about me. This relates to every single one of us. If we are each authentically ourselves everyday, think of how many incredible human beings would be walking the earth. We are each amazing individuals with an indescribable value.

When we are authentic, we are our own kind of beautiful and we value ourselves. Be someone who stands out as a genuine person and let your true self be seen.