3 Tips to Being Self-Expressed

When you take the time to figure out what your core values are and do an audit of your life to determine if you're living in alignment with them, you will be completely shocked! 

7 years ago, I was in a workshop and they had us do an audit of every community we were a part of. The intention was to see how we were showing up in each area of our lives....ie am I the same person everywhere or do I morph myself to fit in or people-please? 

I was shocked. I felt like I was completely myself with my friends but was a different person with my core family as well as at work. I had been hiding parts of myself because of shame and fear of being judged. From what I have seen in the women I coach, this is very common. 

The question then becomes - How do I stop doing this? How do I come out of hiding and actually be myself? 

Here are my 3 tips to Being Self-Expressed

1. Identify your core values

This is an exercise I do every year because you change as you get older and life circumstances shift. Take a list of values that you can download for free, and write down each one that resonates with you. Then group them into similar categories so you end up with 5-6 values. These become your compass for living and making decisions. 

2. Visualize what you desire 

I love using guided meditations from Insight Timer to begin to visualize what I want. I love a 10-20 minute "future self" visualization. This helps me drop from my monkey mind into my heart and to identify what my subconscious mind wants. I always ask my body what she wants rather than my mind. You will likely surprise yourself with what comes up during these visualizations....trust the answers! Trust what your body and your guides "tell" you. This is a window into your desires

3. Take aligned actions

Now that you know what your values are and you know what your future self or highest self wants, you take action. Do not take action prior to doing the first 2 steps because you will be acting from the past and old habits rather than from where you're headed. Ask yourself "what would my highest self do" when you're faced with a decision or an opportunity to take action. This will have you feel more balanced, in alignment with your desires and values, and less frantic. 

If you follow these 3 steps your entire life will feel different. You will notice an increase in joy, a feeling of self-satisfaction and you'll feel grounded when taking action. You'll notice you begin to reclaim parts of yourself that have been lost and naturally become more self-expressed!