“Less perfection, more authenticity”- this is key. 

Aren’t you sick of all the perfection on social media? The perfectly staged photo, the live video where the girl pretends to have just woken up- a face full of contoured makeup. The picture of the cute couple that seems like they never argue, and the one we all love the most, the gym lover that showcases their “perfect” bodies and appear to always feel 100% confident. 

Now, do not get me wrong I love all of these, and it’s nice to see couples that are happy and people that are living their healthiest life and to look at the beautiful makeup these girls can do – they are damn good for sure… But the truth is that these images of perfection in the media are messing with us. 

We start to believe that these images are candid true snapshots of someone else’s reality. We begin to believe that we are “less-than” and we feel like the content we see is unreachable. We start trying to mimic what others do, or what we think people want to see. But the reality is that the only way to connect with your audience is to show up as your authentic self! 

You can’t be so focused on portraying this unrealistic image of perfection. It will literally repel your ideal clients, the ones you will be able to connect with and achieve big things with! 

Authenticity is the art of knowing and staying true to your own character and core values. 

Not only who you are, but who you want to be. Evaluating yourself and reflecting on whether or not you are portraying someone who is true to themselves is similar to evaluating your business and why you are running it and what direction you are working towards. It’s all about understanding yourself and not being pursued to conform to anything other than who you are and what you want. 

I talk about being authentic all the time. To me, it means not trying to be perfect or put on any pretenses with anyone- both in person and through social media. I keep it real! 

For anyone who has worked with me, they know that I have a very deep and personal reason behind why I started my business. They understand that there is a deeper purpose behind everything that I want to do and I don’t choose to work with businesses or clients whose drive or purpose is not aligned with my mission or my mindset. 

So here is some guidance for you to start defining what authentic means.

Being authentic is:

-Knowing who you are and not pretending to be something you are not. 

-Being real with your strengths and weaknesses- not pretending like you have it all together. 

-Sharing real stories.

-Staying focussed on what message you want to send, or what legacy you want to leave. 

Being authentic is not:

-Being overly critical for the sake of “being honest”

-Oversharingersonal stories

-Not having boundaries

Without boundaries, you cannot be authentic. Without boundaries, you simply lack tact. 

Boundaries allow us to have respect for ourselves, our goals, and our stories. 

It is crucial to find what a balance is for you. How much of your personal life do others need to know? What is the appropriate setting to share personal details? Make sure that the image you are portraying shows who you really are. 

Time to reflect!

Take some time to sit down and define these fundamentals concepts in your life. Write out your strengths, weaknesses, boundaries, core values… Anything that defines who you are and what desires or beliefs dictate your choices.

 Who you are, who you want to be, and the actions or decisions you make to help you move forward in life. 

Every time you feel stuck, or unaligned look at this list. I promise it will make a huge impact on how you show up in your life. 

Also, please know:

Instilling a little more confidence than you might feel in a moment isn’t inauthentic, but you might want to be real about what your insecurities are. This doesn’t mean that you need to share everything you are insecure about, but it should mean that you are being honest about who you are as well as who you are working to be. Find that balance between showing who you are and who you want to be!

“Authenticity is when you say and do the things you actually believe.”

-Simon Sinek