Are you living your truth? We hear the terms “living our truth” but what does it exactly mean? To me, it’s living a life where you feel attuned with your choices. You don’t experience an inner nagging voice as you’re aligned to your values and feel a sense of purpose.
I see people living their truth, struggling to live their truth and others who are out of alignment (according to what their truth is). Because of this, I felt it was important to explore this topic and provide any nuggets that might be helpful for someone to live their truth.
According to coach and author, Martha Beck, truth is “something you live, not something you think” (From Finding Your Way in a Wild New World). This affirms what I said earlier about being in sync with your choices and values.
Living your truth reminds me of Beck’s definition of integrity. In The Way of Integrity, Beck describes integrity as “to be one thing, whole and undivided.” Integrity to her, is “When you experience unity of intention, fascination, and purpose, you live like a bloodhound on a scent, joyfully doing what feels truest in each moment.”
One could argue that to live your truth and to be in integrity, a certain amount of privilege is involved (think Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). I’m not denying this element, however, there have been people who have lived their truth without privilege e.g., taking a vow of poverty or social movements led by people of colour.
It boils down to whether you’re living your life from your essential or social self. Most people due to culture and influence (peer and family), live from their social selves or mostly from their social selves. They subscribe to what society deems as success, not what makes them truly happy. This is why I see a lot of people changing careers as they mature, they realize they’re living someone else’s dream not their own, and they want different.
I too changed careers in my thirties. I went into teaching because someone thought I’d be good at it, not because I thought it was my calling. The truth is I didn’t know what my calling was. I was trying to figure it out and put the pieces together. Once I learned more about myself, what I liked and what I didn’t, it was easier for me to live my truth.
If you were like me back then and you don’t know what your truth is, that’s okay. Sometimes it takes time, sometimes it takes testing and other times it requires going within and getting a better sense of who you are. You can do this by yourself or with help from a therapist, coach, or mentor.
I believe there is a sure-fire way to determine if you’re not living in integrity or truth. You feel misaligned, dissatisfied, possibly sick or stressed. You know there is more or a different way for you that you’re not acting on. You hear that inner disgruntled or nagging voice. You feel you betrayed yourself in some way. If interested, you can read an earlier blog post I wrote called “8 Questions You Can Ask Yourself If You’re Dissatisfied at Work” to further determine if you are living your truth.
Living your truth can be all or nothing, but I believe for most it’s figuring out what’s truer, for you and for your life, and getting closer to it. I believe it’s more a journey than a destination. If you’d like help with finding, or fleshing out your truth, and living it, fill out the form to explore next steps.
Best,
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