Authenticity.
True to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.
Not false or an imitation
Someone recently asked me what my silver lining in 2020 has been and my answer came easily: the chance to slow down and re-align with who I am and what I want.
The chance to be authentic.
2020 has been a blessing for me in that way. We will all look back on this year and think “damn, that happened.” But personally, I will look at 2020 and also think “why yes, that was the year I started to live aligned.”
We all get caught up in the “stuff.” We let our to do lists overtake us. We let the expectations of others – or our perceived expectations – guide us. We feel obligated to “not let anyone down.” We get caught up in the “boss babe” culture, the “hustle hard” culture. We do it all – or at least look like we do – while quietly asking ourselves: “when will I have time to do what I want? To put myself first?”
My pandemic silver lining has been the opportunity to realize what does and doesn’t align with my life’s vision. We have all seen inspirational quotes that say things like “decide what kind of life you want and say no to everything that isn’t that” and “find what lights you up – and go do it.” We probably think “oh, I like that.” We double tap it or save it to our Inspirational Quotes pinterest board.
Do we live it?
Probably not.
But suddenly, when I couldn’t coach gymnastics or train for weightlifting meets, I had time. Time to do some of the things I wanted to do. Time to reflect on what was working and what wasn’t. Time to realize I wasn’t coaching gymnastics because I wanted to. I still loved coaching and adored my kids, but I was sacrificing a lot of my personal time because I felt obligated – they didn’t have enough coaches and I was the only one coaching the special needs class and… and… and… I was doing a whole lot of that – a whole lot of putting the things I wanted to do on the backburner in the name of doing what I thought I was supposed to do or what was expected of me.
By doing that, I wasn’t living in alignment with who I am and what I want.
What does that look like, to live life aligned?
It looks like telling gymnastics no when they asked me to coach once they were allowed to re-open. I had realized I have a finite amount of time. I wanted my Saturday morning CrossFit class more than I wanted to teach preschool gymnastics.
It looks like keeping my Fridays evenings free of obligation (shocking how even in a pandemic your calendar can book up) after a week of work and classes. It’s my time to sit on my couch, watch cheesy movies, and work on whatever I want to work on that’s not homework or “real” work.
It looks like deciding to move to Los Angeles to make a go at becoming a showrunner and turning the stories that play out in my head into a way to make a living.
It looks like living authentically.
Living aligned.
Life. Aligned.
It’s a conscious choice to live a life in alignment with who you are, what you want, and what you need. It’s not the easiest thing to do though. We fall into routine, into what’s safe. We do what we think is expected of us. We let dreams die, passions fall away.
But are you happy living out of alignment?
I wasn’t.
I appeared to be.
But inside, I was wrestling. I wasn’t happy. I was doing a lot of “stuff” but so much of that stuff was simply stuff I didn’t want to do. So I set boundaries. I said “no.” I chose to focus my energy on things that brought me joy, that aligned with my passions, what lights me up. I trimmed away the things that weren’t working or bringing me joy. I made space for myself, for what I wanted my life to be and become.
You may have noticed the phrase ‘Life Aligned’ floating around on my blog and social media. That’s because I have a story to tell – a story of living my life aligned. A story that I hope inspires you to live a life aligned.
A life of authenticity.
A life that lights you up.
Here’s to life aligned.
