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Are you living a life that is true to yourself?

Living authentically is an ideal to aspire to. It is when we have no need to impress others or gain their attention. We are content to be who we are and for others to see us for who we are. We are doing our best to follow the road that is right for us, rather than the road that others want us to go down. Professor Stephen Joseph, author of Authentic: How to be Yourself and Why it Matters, provides a quiz for us to reflect if we are truly being ourselves in our own lives, our relationships, at work and more.

 

You can check how much you are living a life that is true to yourself by answering the following questions.

 

  1. Do you know what you want out of your life?                                  Yes [  ]   No [  ]
  2. Do you feel free to make your own choices?                                     Yes [  ]   No [  ]
  3. Do you feel free to express your views and opinions?                    Yes [  ]   No [  ]
  4. Do you feel you can be yourself on a day-to-day basis?                 Yes [  ]   No [  ]

 

If you said yes to most of these questions, it is likely that you are living a life that is true to yourself. If, however, you said no to most of these questions you can change your life by striving for greater authenticity. But it is an ongoing journey. Living authentically is hard because there are so many forces influencing us to believe that it is more important to fit in and be the person that other people want us to be. Authenticity is about realising that we are the authors of our own lives. Find out more: www.authenticityformula.com

 

Stephen Joseph is a professor of psychology, health and social care at the University of Nottingham, UK, where he is co-director of the Centre for Trauma, Resilience and Growth and an honorary consultant psychologist in psychotherapy. He has published more than two hundred academic papers, seven academic books and is the author of What Doesn’t Kill Us (Piatkus). He is often asked to comment in the media on topical events relating to his work.