You were put on this planet for a reason.

I spent so many years of my life trying to be someone else. When I started blogging in 2010 it was a total lone dessert and when I launched my channel in 2012 (poor lighting and all), I was totally authentically myself at that moment. When I started to get more into blogging and Instagram came to be I went sideways. Suddenly, I felt like who I was wasn’t good enough and I created this expectation and ideal that wasn’t my ideal to live up to. I would try and try and try to be this “fitness model,” when really my recovery came from letting go of that expectation on myself. I wasn’t being authentically me. When you are not Authentic with yourself, your life feels like a roller coaster you just can’t get off of.

This past year I shed some layers and finally feel like I am myself living my passion, my dream and sharing my story with those who need to hear it.

When I started blogging in 2010 it was a total lone dessert and when I launched my channel in 2012 (poor lighting and all), I was totally authentically myself at that moment. When I started to get more into blogging and Instagram came to be I went sideways. Suddenly, I felt like who I was wasn’t good enough and I created this expectation and ideal that wasn’t my ideal to live up to. This past year I shed some layers and finally feel like I am myself living my passion, my dream and sharing my story with those who need to hear it.

It wasn’t until I came to realize that I wasn’t being authentic and that I was creating this expectation and pressure on myself that I decided to let go. It took some time, a fire that almost lit my office on fire and a lot of meditation but I finally saw the light, I am here for a purpose and I let go of all expectations on myself.

Since this year was such a defining year for me, I wanted to share with you how I did just that. I recorded a video, a podcast and even wrote a post here because I found these tips so important during my transformation.

3 Tips to Be More Authentic With Yourself:

• Break Up With Expectations:  Give yourself permission to trust your gut. You know how you do things because you feel like other people want you to but you really don’t want to. Or maybe you might be like me, I used to feel like I had to be the next fitness superstar to make an impact and inspire people to make movement apart of their lifestyles when in reality I needed to let that all go and just focus on my message not how gorgeous my Instagram feed is.
  • Action: Think about things in your life that don’t make you happy and figure out why you’re doing them. Why am I waking up at 6 in the morning to meditate when I absolutely hate it? Give yourself permission to meditate at night. That’s okay too.
• Change Your I Have To’s to I Want To’s:  Instead of saying I have to work out, or I have to drop this weight, I have to drink this nasty apple cider vinegar drink and I hate it it’s gross. Switch it, shift it to say I want to. When you change your mindset, switching your intentions to I want to’s, is huge. There’s been a lot of things that I have to change my framework on. Like doing my accounting every month. I do not like doing it. But I change it to I want to do my accounting so I can see how I can expand my business, to see where I need to invest my learning or my skillset so once I shifted that, it became so much easier for me to go into my accounting every single month, and do the work that I need to do. Instead of changing the things that you have to do, change them to I want to do, to see the positive and the beauty in it, and it gives you the permission to accept. You may not want to accept but you have to accept because you got to do it. Changing it to I want to is a big key phrase that you can use for anything that you don’t want to do but you have to do.
  • Action: Think of 3 things you do not want to do but know you have to and start the day by saying you want to do them for the next 30 days.
• Give Yourself Permission to Love Yourself: For me, I am an avid over-exerciser, I love to exercise. It’s my therapy., it’s not a disorder, I love it. I love to move, but lately, I’ve been giving myself permission to be more gentle on myself. I had to switch that over because I have been doing so much more in my day to day from my podcast and my business, and my life and trying to build a social life out here in Las Vegas. Sometimes I don’t get to my workouts and instead of beating myself up about it, I’ve been saying to myself, I give you permission to skip your workout today. Once I switch that, the guilt is no longer there. I feel it’s so easy to guilt yourself. You deserve to spend an extra 5 minutes soaking in a rose petal filled bath, you honor yourself by taking yourself out for a massage and you do this by giving yourself permission and letting go of the guilt surrounded by these acts.
  • Action: Take a moment to think of one act of self-love you can do today and go do it. Let go of any expectations and guilt and spend 5 minutes doing whatever it is you want.

Just living your life by giving yourself Permission, trusting your intuition and just feeling good about your day to day will create that lifestyle that you really desire and that you really want. Learn to be cool being you and be authentic with yourself and others. Doing things you love and that create pleasure in your life create more and more pleasure and will allow you to burst at the seams in confidence and authenticity. 

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SO I wanna know…

• How are you going to practice more self-care in your life?
• Do you give yourself permission to take a break?

The post How to Give Yourself Permission and Be Authentic With Yourself appeared first on Courtney Bentley || Health and Wellness Coaching and Motivational Speaker in Las Vegas.