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Sooner or later, a question pops up in your mind that you can’t answer. You dismiss it many times, but it keeps coming back. It’s like a stone in your shoe. First, it’s just an irritation, but if left unanswered, it becomes a blister, and if that’s left unanswered, pretty soon you have an infection.

The question we all face at some point is this: Is this what life is all about for me? Indeed, there’s more than this! Where have I gone wrong? What can I do? I don’t want my life to be like this. We’ve all experienced frustration, anxiety, lack of fulfillment, doubt, and indecision. These emotions occur with monotonous regularity and will continue to appear until you change something.

Living Authentically

When you get right down to it, most people want to live a peaceful, happy life and make more money than they need to spend each month. Then, they could spend time with the people they care about and do the things that make their hearts sing.

In other words, they want to live an Authentic Life. Authenticity is the inevitable outcome when what you think, say, and do are in harmony. It’s the only possible outcome.

How different would it be if you woke up each morning smiling, jumped out of bed, and couldn’t wait to get at it? Remember when you were a kid, and the fair was in town?

Living an authentic life starts with feeling happy every day, and that starts by letting go of everybody and everything that no longer serves you.

Things that no longer serve you may include:

· People that you’ve known for a long time

· Places you visit

· Activities you may have enjoyed for years

· Old habits, thoughts, and expectations

What Do You Need to Let Go?

Consider these ideas:

● People. If you know people who no longer make you happy, it’s time to let them go. What if they are friends? What if they are family? If you want to live an authentic life, facing the reality of where your unhappiness comes from is essential.

● Places. What about the places you visit? Are there places you go to for entertainment, education, or social recreation that you don’t enjoy? Stop going there if you’re unhappy when you go in and not when you come out!

● Thoughts. What do you spend your time thinking about? Is your mind permeated with doom and gloom? Do your thoughts create anxiety, disappointment, or even anger? Why dwell on any of that? How can that possibly serve you?

All the people, places, and experiences you allow to perpetuate are weighing you down. No amount of success drive or positive thinking will change anything for you until you face the real issue.

Every person, place, or activity that doesn’t make you happy is like a rock you put in your backpack when hiking. You don’t have to go far before the extra weight begins to slow you down, but you still entertain all the thoughts about things and people that no longer serve you.

Life becomes heavy, every day becomes a chore, and the backpack becomes too heavy to lift. Everything seems like a struggle. And you wonder why life is tough? It’s time to unload that backpack!

What Happens When You Start Living Authentically?

Here’s what happens when you do:

● You start thinking of people, places, and things that made you happy as a child.

● You get the urge to revisit places you haven’t seen for a long time, seek out and find people who made you feel good many years ago, and re-engage with activities you thoroughly enjoyed as a child that hold so many memories for you.

● You find yourself smiling during the day for no reason at all. Life suddenly feels lighter. You feel capable of letting go of non-productive thoughts.

● For the first time in a long time, you begin to experience JOY just through your thoughts and feelings. You notice that, without conscious effort, you have no attachment to the people, places, or things that no longer serve you. Letting them all go becomes effortless.

● Living authentically becomes easy. As your awareness of all things authentic within you becomes more apparent, your ability to reject things that are not in alignment with your authentic self increases proportionately.

● You make new friends, and new people who align with your new, fresh way of thinking start to come into your life.

● You have new adventures. Opportunities to experience new activities that you have never previously considered present themselves, and you find yourself excited to try them.

● You learn and discover. Your interest in learning new things awakens, and you are fascinated by learning new skills.

While learning these new skills, the people you meet resonate directly with your heart, and you feel at home. Once you start living authentically, your frustration, anxiety, and doubt are replaced with optimism, enthusiasm, and fulfillment in all that you do. Life seems simpler. The sun seems to shine more. Others say you look different, more radiant, and more alive.

It all begins when you decide to let go of everyone and everything that no longer serves you. The change can be dramatic, and the feelings are permanent. Try it for yourself. You’ll be glad you did!