We all get lost from time to time. Feeling like you’ve lost touch with the real you. We all forget who we really are when life throws a spanner (or three) into the works. Faced with choices to start and end relationships, to travel the world, to follow the hunch or to leave it, to start a family or maybe to close your business and start over again will shake your world as you know it.
There are a whole host of curly life situations that will, despite your greatest resistance, change you… And sometimes that change will over time take you away from your essence… The true you.
But then a conversation, a new destination, or a moment of pause will bring you back to that old familiar feeling of self. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you’ve missed it. You know you want to rediscover the real you again.
To help you, here are 5 ways to rediscover (and reunite!) with the real you:
Create space to think and feel
Take the time to really consider and feel when you have been happiest in your life. Those times you thrived on joy and felt well and truly alive in your skin. Maybe those times you woke up early with a camera in hand to document each day’s sunrise makes you smile from within. Maybe those dance lessons you took once a week with your besties made you laugh harder than you have laughed before. Maybe roaming the streets of Mexico, taking in the colours, scents and new faces had you seriously considering packing your bags and moving to Oaxaca to learn Spanish like a pro.
Trace those feelings of happiness. Follow the road map.
Be present and notice
Flick the switch off autopilot and look around you. Travel through your day curious as a two-year-old. Notice what sparks your interest. What places and people you are drawn to, what movies you want to watch, what books you want to read, what movement your body desires, what art you want to create.
Notice the small and the big revelations.
Recognise what rubs you the wrong way
Your emotions are signposts on the road back to the real you. In the same way that you notice what interests and inspires you, recognise also what makes you angry and sad. What ticks you off? Think about the people and situations in the past that have put you in a bad mood or made you resentful. If you don’t have time to write or to dance or to photograph or to simply be still, how do you feel? If you find yourself annoyed or jealous because of something someone else is doing, ask yourself – why?
Journal every day
As you make these discoveries about the real you, record your findings in your journal daily. As you journal about your feelings, surprises and clues will show themselves to you. If the real you hasn’t been given a voice for some time, your journal is the space for this voice to reveal itself. If you have been too busy to notice how much you dislike your job, your journal will tell you. If you have been starved from your creative expression, your journal will also tell you.
Put pen to paper and see what happens.
Listen to your body
Your body will tell you when you have gone off path or dishonoured your true self. It will speak with heightened anxiety or maybe a knot in the belly. You may have a head ache or neck pain. You may feel foggy in the head. When you’re on point and aligning with your joy and values, you may feel light and full of energy. You may laugh and giggle and smile more. You may even feel your heart expand. This is your intuition communicating with you through your human self, asking you to listen to what is right for you.
Pay attention to the cues because your intuition doesn’t lie (it doesn’t know how to!)
We’d love to hear how you have rediscovered the real you on this wild and wicked ride called life. Jump in the comments below.
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Articles written by our internal Daily Guru writers, who are certified & qualified growth & development professionals.
