Are You Living an Authentic Life? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself

Do you sometimes think you feel empty and not sure why? You’ve got a great job, a loving family and a pretty happy life, but still something’s missing and you just can’t put your finger on what that is.

Well I think I might know the answer.

Take a look around at your life and ask yourself these questions:

1. Who Do You Surround Yourself With? Think about who your friends are. Who you choose as your support system will tell you a lot about yourself. When I think back on my life, the friends that I had at every age of my life reflected what life stage I was in. There’s a reason, for example, why some people are only in your life for a season. A drinking buddy or party all night pal may turn out to be a long-term friend if they’ve grown with you but if not, they’re only fun until you’ve outgrown them and gone on with your life.

2. What Are You Doing With Your Life? Are you happy at the job you’re in? Or are you going through the motions and feeding your unhappiness with food, shopping, video games, etc.? Living your life unconsciously will inevitably lead to dissatisfaction and a lack of meaning in your life.

3. Are You Living a Lie? Are you trying to appear perfect on the outside, but feel inadequate on the inside. While it may not be a good idea to share your life’s problems and your insecurities with the world, having at least one person to confide in can help ease that pressure to be perfect. When you feel like you need to put on an act all the time, it can wreak havoc on your soul. You may wake up one day and not know who you are anymore.

4. What’s Your Head Telling You? Is it a self-critical parent or a unhappy teacher that’s following you wherever you go? Tell them to take a hike. If you let them fester and hang out in your head too long, you’ll start to crumble from the inside out.

5. Are You Giving Everyone All You Got? Do you think you’re only as good as you give? That’s called the people-pleasing syndrome. When you give all you have, you’ll not only feel resentful, but you’ll be running on low most of the time. Learn how to receive. Give to yourself. And work on feeling good about who you are, not what you have to offer someone else.

What do you think? Are there friends who are draining you or are you giving too much without receiving anything in return? No wonder why you’re feeling down. These are all signs you need to wake up, readjust and start on the right path towards living a more authentic life. So…

Surround yourself with positive, supportive people in your life.

Be present in whatever situation you are in in the moment. Even if it’s the feeling that you HATE your job right now. Feel it. Don’t ignore it. Those feelings have genuine significance in your life. They might even help you to find alternative solutions to your current job.

Live an honest life. If you’re insecure and don’t feel good about yourself, then this may be easier said than done. However, there are still small steps you can do to start living a more honest life. Take initiative, for example, in making decisions, even speaking up about where you want to go to eat or what movie you really want to see. The truer you are to yourself, the better you’ll start to feel.

Start talking positive. Replace those negative birds flying around in your head with positive life affirming statements. This will definitely take some time to do, but practice makes perfect (or almost perfect). Repeat after me, “I am worthy. I am lovable.”

Give less. Receive more. Practice your thank yous instead of your welcome. Be open to receiving no matter how uncomfortable that may seem. Start small by stopping yourself whenever you someone asks for volunteers and experience what it feels like to say no. Go on a mini retreat. Do something nice for yourself for a change. And learn the beauty of self-love and receiving.