Your Authentic Self
Your Authentic Self (or mine) is your inner ‘you’, a unique blend of four equal components: passions, values, talents and skills.
A passion is any activity that gets us excited, something that while we are engaged in that specific activity, we lose track of time. It may be an activity that fills us with pride or a sense of accomplishment but the ‘bigger’ feelings are satisfaction and pleasure. Passions are usually specific: photography, greyhound rescue, adult literacy, Gothic architecture.
Your values help identify who you are. They are what makes ‘you’, ‘you’. The authors of the book The Lemming Conspiracy define values as ‘what you hold most personally meaningful in your life‘. Values are specific to you but sound bigger to others i.e Satisfaction Contractor; Restorative Countryside; Spontaneous Creation; Organic Diva; Childhood Whimsy. To learn more pick up Chocolate for the Soul.
Talents are the pieces of your personality that come to you naturally. You may have worked to sharpen them but they are the things that you have always been able to do well. Perhaps you are a fast reader or catch onto any sport without much effort.
Skills are the areas that you have worked to develop. Being a good listener is a skill. They are not talents but areas that you have sharpened and honed so they are strong within you. Being an extremely organized person is a skill.
The essence behind my work is to facilitate the development of Authentic Self to the point where it is being lived and respected on a daily basis within each of our lives. For many reasons we don’t always show our Authentic Self to the world but I work with women to help them realize the essential tie of their Authentic Self to long-term satisfaction, love and success.
[...] The New York Times reports today that there are more women living without a spouse than ever before. All kinds of women make up this new statistic: never married ones; widowers, divorced women, etc. Many women I know from my own work fall into the category of “delighted to be single again”. Frequently, these are women who married young, raised families and are now glad to finally explore their own Authentic Self. Yes, they would like to find a partner who they can have fun with but are also glad to be on their own, free to sleep on the other side of the bed, come home late and not have to make a meal for anyone except themselves. [...]
Pingback by ejohnsonandcompany.com » “It’s a marriage culture,” a single woman says — 1/16/2007 @ 12:10 pm
[...] I called a friend last night to express my thanks at being supportive and encouraging to me at a point where I needed a bit of support team build-up. She is a great Authentic Self champion for me. BUT–(“Why does everyone I know have a big but?”) she picked up the phone when she was running late and should have already been out the door–one of my all-time biggest pet peeves when I am calling someone. If you are too busy to pick up the phone, DON’T get it! The end result is always annoyance for both parties. I was annoyed because I was trying to share a ‘thank you’ and wasn’t allowed to and she was annoyed because she was already late. There is nothing inherently wrong with letting the phone ring. I often choose to not answer the phone either because I don’t have time for a conversation at that ringing moment or because I know that I won’t be able to pay as close attention to the caller as I want to. If there is a real emergency, people will try and reach you another way (or on another phone) if they can’t get you the first time. Not answering a ringing phone is a kind response–both to yourself and the caller. After all, who wants to talk to someone who really doesn’t have the time or desire to talk to them? [...]
Pingback by ejohnsonandcompany.com » Let it Ring — 1/19/2007 @ 8:28 pm
[...] Make It Beautiful –One look at the care and depth of my Confident Women Coaching Cards will instantly tell anyone who doesn’t know me that I greatly prize the beautiful. Indeed, one of my personal values is Everyday Beauty. I think everyone’s lives can be enhanced with adding more beauty to them. [...]
Pingback by ejohnsonandcompany.com » Martha Rules — 1/25/2007 @ 10:18 am
[...] like safes! They remember everything and they look good at the same time. So, since two of my personal values are “Everyday Beauty” and “Continual Learning”, it is no wonder that this [...]
Pingback by ejohnsonandcompany.com » Movies that inspire our Authentic Self — 2/2/2007 @ 10:44 am
[...] How does the opportunity tie in with your Authentic Self? Look at your values first. If for example, your values are “sweet clarity”, [...]
Pingback by ejohnsonandcompany.com » “Is It Worth It?”: 3 Ways to Qualify Any Situation — 7/3/2007 @ 7:05 am
[...] and re-filling them at shops; not testing beauty care products on animals are two examples) with 2) personal values (peace-loving, anti-war, fair trade) and 3) a passion for an idea to build a successful, [...]
Pingback by ejohnsonandcompany.com » Anita Roddick, passionate trailblazer, dead at 64 — 9/14/2007 @ 7:41 am