The famous quote of Shakespeare, “This above all else, to thine own self be true. And it will follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man,” contained nuggets of gold that could only lead to success.

When the beliefs, values and opinions of other people around you and the culture at large bombard from all sides, digging out what is really “thine own self” can be difficult to decipher. Luckily, life has a funny way of letting you know by your own internal reliable gauge for measuring how close you are to your true self.

When you stray too far away from your true self, you feel dreadful. When this happens, it’s an indicator that you need to do a self analysis so that you can restore your self back to your true nature. Many people fail to recognize this until it begins to take a toll on them physically, mentally or emotionally.

Here is something to assist you with making sure you not only recognize that you might have lost your way a bit, but also that you are able to pivot and get right back to being true to yourself, which of course is the only way to be.

There are no rules for being true to yourself. However, there are indicators that give you clues that you should pay attention to.

When you experience a physical reaction in your body such as that “gut reaction,” that is a direct indicator that you need to stop before proceeding and check in with yourself to see if you’re being true to yourself. Don’t let your ego distract you into believing that the physical reaction is not an indicator that something is not right. That maybe you might not be being true to yourself. The body doesn’t lie and the gut definitely doesn’t lie.

Only you know what you need to do to be true to yourself.

Asking yourself questions such as:

“What are you doing in your life that you know, without question, is right for you?”

“Are you living your purpose or letting someone else live their purpose through you?”

These questions pose a tougher inquiry than they sound. Your answers may not seem cohesive and they may not harmonize, but don’t worry about it. Just allow whatever answer to flow out of you when you ask yourself those questions.

Don’t judge yourself.

Don’t worry about what flows out.

Not every answer will make sense or give you nonstop joy.

Just let them flow and know that this is a way to get to know yourself better so that you can be true to yourself.

Your life is uniquely yours. It grows out of being true and honest with yourself. It grows out of honoring yourself and keeping your sacred commitment to yourself. This is a path to your true success.

There may be people in your life, those living by what they think others expect of them, that may view you as selfish, ungrateful, antisocial and difficult. However those that are also being true to themselves will shower you with empathy, gratitude, respect and generosity.

Remember one of the greatest successes that a person can experience in life is being true unto thyself.

Namaste,

Rochel Marie Lawson, RN, AHP, CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous