Many of us have a difficult time giving ourselves permission to be who we really are in character, career choice, hobbies, and even our hopes and desires. Unintentionally, we endeavour to be something we are not, and we strive to meet others’ aspirations even in a place of service. Thus, these aspirations are not birthed from our unique and self-directed soul. Instead, many ambitions are born from socialization, parental control, cultural beliefs, or rebellion. Further, ambitions can grow from implicit feelings of wanting to be accepted, having the need to belong, and the desire to be loved. All this considered, we make our choices, not based on who we truly are, but, rather, from a place that isn’t distinct to our own journey, and, as a result, we find ourselves asking what the purpose of life is.
When we give ourselves permission to be who we truly are, we know our purpose. The underlying question is then, “Do we know our truth?” Wholeheartedly, we believe we are following our desired plan. We are adamant about our journey. Nevertheless, to our dismay, we reach a destination and find out it is not where we really want to be. We feel confused and empty. At this point, this would be a great place to reflect and contemplate these questions: “Whose plan am I really following?” And, “Why is following someone else’s plan more important to me than living my truth?”
Because of the demands of the world, whether it is socialization, culturalization, religion, family values, norms, and roles, we sometimes feel as though we should be something that we are not. To add, the demands of the world have a very strong presence of persuasion, and, if we don’t behave the way the world asks us to, we will definitely be told. We may even be labelled ignorant or mentally ill, or exiled from the family or community.
Although this may be true, if we chose to overcome the demands of the world and give ourselves permission to live by our unique purpose, how then do we find our truth? Initially, truth is elusive and hard to detect. Sometimes, it feels like it lives beyond us almost unreachable; however, it is within reach. To help the process along, it is good to remember that failure creates more clarity. Thus, we must change the way we see failure, and, instead, look at it as a stepping stone to truth. Second, clear up compulsive thoughts of worry, regret, or doubt. These two suggestions begin a pathway to truth. Ultimately, to uncover our truth, it takes careful listening from within to distinguish our inner voice from our ego’s safety net and saboteur. In the end, if our mind and heart are filled with judgement and mental or emotional anguish, they are too occupied to see the pathway to our truth.
To sum, when you give yourself permission to be who you truly are, your choices are based on your unique purpose rather someone else’s ideal. When you give yourself permission to be who you truly are, you are aligned with your purpose. Now, it is a matter of living it full out while at the same time being free from the restraints of conditioning. Untangle the web and give yourself permission to be the true you.