Authenticity Unlocks Freedom

Do I still provide hope while confessing my flaws? Are there some flaws I should keep private? What is the benefit of being an open book?

I believe what is most inspirational is that I’m willing and able to better myself in every way that feels flawed. That no matter what I struggle with and whatever comes my way, my gloves are on and I’m ready to battle. There is nothing new or from my past that can block my success. Nobody’s perfect and nobody’s life comes without challenge. I find the most inspirational people to be those who are most honest with themselves and with others.

It takes a confident and brave person to admit one’s own faults. To express the things about us that remain unsettling gives us permission to focus on positive changes. To carry out a persona where struggling isn’t acknowledged is unbelievable and impossible to relate to. The benefit of transparency is trust, understanding, and ease. No lies to keep up with. What is attracted is meant to be, encouraging personal progress that is necessary and fitting. Truth is a moving process of growth and becoming. Secrets are ticking time bombs, bubbling under the surface, awaiting explosion. Fake images put out into the world will blow to pieces, leaving only a real life that hasn’t had a chance to be accepted and nurtured. Fake truths disguise disgust. Manufactured lives are carried by people who haven’t found their power yet. These people live in fear. Fear of evolution, and fear of exposure. Fabrication takes away real opportunities, real chances for healing, self-love, and admiration. To live a life other than the one we have not only displaces self-discovery and development, but it is entirely extra work. Authenticity makes way for transformation. Truth is the key to freedom.

What does the ideal inspirational human look like? Are we all understanding that “perfect” is fake?

It’s a new age. We are swinging open doors and breaking barriers. Gender variance and sexual orientation are expressed openly with pride and joy. The chance to open our minds to love in all forms. Expanding the gateway, allowing more access to love is a blessing. There’s no such thing as too much love.

No matter how you identify or how you appear, the picture perfect model to me loves themselves. This person might deal with depression on a daily basis or fight eating disorders, medical issues or identify to a gender different than how they were born. No matter what the struggle, everyone has the same opportunity to find happiness within their own truth. I want to be happy with myself more than I want to fit social norms. Isn’t that what is really important? Finally, curves and plus-sized models are in! #loveyourbody and other self-motivating inspiration are trending in hopes to promote the fact that we come in all different shapes and sizes. There’s too much beauty to hold one definition. What is beautiful? Confident. And how do we gain confidence? Understanding we are enough.

Creating our own goals and expectations of who we should be is how we can achieve greatness. Expanding boundaries through media allows anyone to “fit in”. We want to see advertisements we can connect to. Want to relate, and want to feel relatable. How can I buy the dress I see on the woman I look nothing like? How will I be inspired to purchase and use the workout gear when I’m only viewing it on this athletic god fitness model I don’t identify with? Good advertisements adjust to wide audiences. They reach all the possibilities of customers who want to imagine themselves buying what they’re selling. Athletic wear companies and underwear franchises are finally reaching a wider pool of buyers. I feel the warmth when I see these companies promoting XXXL and XXXS sizing. Why limit growth when it comes to sales? When it comes to making people feel good? MTV adjusted one of their hit shows “Are You The One” this season to include an entire cast of sexually fluid humans. Not only inspiring a wider audience of viewers, but opening conversation and exposing new ideas to those of us who haven’t experienced dating on this same level. The more love the merrier.

Have our minds truly adjusted to this shift in societal freedom? Don’t you feel inspired more by a curvy woman with the courage to express her confidence, than a clearly edited photo of a model touched up to perfection? Don’t you question people whose lives seem perfect? They must be hiding something. When someone is vulnerable, raw, open to sharing hard to admit confessions, it reminds me how much more admirable this person is to me than someone closed off or carrying out a fake image. I’m always impressed by the courage of a transparent person more than I ever judge them for what they share.

What are we afraid of? In my opinion, anyone who is mature enough to admit their flaws and strong enough to work towards being the best version of themselves is goals. THAT is the kind of person who inspires me. The kind of path I want to be on. Promoting honesty, true strength, relatable hardships with the power to overcome. Someone recently said to me “Skinny girls aren’t sexy. Muscular girls are hot.” While this example is more specific than my point, the idea that our strength outshines our image is what sticks with me. Build muscle, find your inner lion. Toughness, thick skin, and belief in yourself are what thrives. Who you are, what you stand for and who you want to be is the image that should be in that magazine or on Instagram that you save as inspiration. Take a mental note, what do you really admire?

As much as I still hope for change in the way we talk about drug problems, race, sexuality, and mental health amongst other issues, I do see a shift. Those of us who struggle with feeling understood are beginning to find our voice in this world. There’s an almost desperate willingness to share that creates waves, opening doors to more stories, more hearts to connect with. Life is always moving, we must always be working on ourselves to keep up. I practice living my truth, understanding my purpose, and accepting and loving myself exactly the way I am meant to me. The truth is, nothing can knock me off my path when my path is exactly where I want to be. ​​​

beyondyoga.com