Knowing what it means to be authentic and putting it into practice can bring you multiple benefits, especially in your work life. But have you ever thought about whether it’s really worth it? In a world where you are increasingly judged and criticized for what you do or how you look, the answer is yes.
how many times have you tried to fit into some fashion even if you don’t share it? Being an authentic person will be a relief, because you will feel calm and without the need to please anyone. As we have said, the benefits of being authentic are many and extend to the workplace .
Find out how to start on the road back to your authenticity in this article. We’ll tell you what it is to be an authentic person, its characteristics and advantages. In addition, we will guide you through various methods to help you understand what it means to be yourself and bring out your authenticity in order to achieve all your goals.
So, break the standards imposed by society and conquer your best version!
What it means to be an authentic person
how many times have you heard the phrase “be yourself” in the last few years? too many? It sounds a bit cliché, but it is necessary to repeat it as many times as you can because being yourself is the best thing you can do. While you must have heard it from various sources, do you really know what it means to be authentic?
Authentic people are characterized by being resilient and true to their ideas, because they think with conviction and act in a way that is consistent with reality. Being authentic is about showing yourself as you are, without fear of people seeing your flaws, because they will also be able to see your virtues.
If you choose to show the human side that lies within you, you will be able to connect with others on a deep level. It’s about being honest with yourself and leaving appearances behind.
You may ask, what is the real benefit of being authentic? We’ll tell you about it later, but as a preview we can tell you that if you understand what being authentic is and put it into practice, you’ll be able to reach your personal and, above all, work goals much faster.
The relationship between imperfection and authenticity
As Canadian essayist Lise Bourbeau says in her book “The 5 wounds that prevent us from being ourselves”, rejection, abandonment, humiliation, betrayal and injustice hinder us on the road to self-love, but it is our duty to heal these wounds and improve every day to discover the meaning of authenticity as a value.
Not being afraid of being vulnerable and treasuring the fact of being imperfect is also what it means to be authentic. This is achieved by cultivating acceptance and self-worth every day .
While society tells you to be one way and look another, you must understand that we are all different and therein lies the beauty of being human. Being authentic will allow you to live without the stress of pleasing others in every step you take.
Authenticity at work
what does it mean to be authentic at work? It means that you are a professional of value! We know that the workplace is important to you and we believe that you will benefit greatly if you internalize what it means to be authentic.
what isn’t authenticity at work?
To better understand what being authentic is, it’s important to know that there are some issues that are not necessarily related to authenticity. According to the BetterUp site, an authentic person:
Doesn’t necessarily share your entire life story at work.
Doesn’t have to connect with everyone on a deep, personal level.
Doesn’t share opinions, perspectives or comments that might hurt others.
Doesn’t need to sacrifice your boundaries to be liked.
what does an authentic person look like in their work environment?
In contrast, an authentic person in the work environment stands out for the following qualities:
Creative: an authentic person lets their ideas flow and offers innovative and creative solutions in the different projects in which they participate.
Proactive: he/she does not always wait for directions, as he/she is not afraid to act on his/her own.
Self-knowledgeable: knows her strengths and works on her weaknesses.
Self-taught: she is constantly learning.
Team-player: promotes teamwork. In addition, he/she collaborates in the work growth of others.
Loyal to the brand: has attitudes that demonstrate loyalty to the company.
why is it important to be an authentic person at work?
There is no doubt that your professional profile will have a spectacular impact. If you are wondering why you should know how authentic people are perceived at work, here are the main reasons:
Authentic and genuine people are seen as productive and proactive, as they offer ideas, are creative and innovative. Therefore, they push forward the organization’s projects without hesitation.
They allow knowledge to flow, are able to help the development of others and are always willing to learn.
They are clear that recognizing their weaknesses is part of what it means to be authentic and are not afraid to admit them.
By being genuine and constantly working on their development, they know what their strengths are and excel in them .
They promote teamwork, because they know what it means to be authentic, and this means knowing how to relate to others and not making hasty judgments.
They manage to be honest at work because they are clear about the values by which they are governed and do not easily deviate from them.
Source: Unsplash
Characteristics of an authentic person
People who know what it means to be authentic can be identified at a glance because they radiate security and well-being. Since they have managed to accept themselves as they are, it is easier for them to relate to others.
Here are some characteristics of those who have managed to be themselves so you can self-assess how authentic you are.
1. They express themselves without fear
Those who have managed to understand the true meaning of what it means to be authentic can express their opinions normally and without fear of what others will say.
Being authentic allows you to forget the fear of criticism because you will be sure of your ideals and your worth. You will be able to understand that not everything a person says should be taken personally.
2. Act out of conviction
An authentic or genuine person performs their actions based on internal motives, in other words, they are not influenced by others .
The meaning of being authentic also falls under the principle of being independent and decisive. This will allow you to make your own decisions that make you feel good, forgetting the need to please others.
3. You do not judge easily
Being honest, it’s hard to avoid making comments about something or someone we see. The difference lies in the time you spend on this. Authentic people waste no effort in badmouthing people or their friends. Understanding what it means to be authentic is being willing to give an honest opinion with the goal of being your best version.
4. They know themselves and know what they are worth
If the question “how to be authentic and original?” has already crossed your mind, the answer is with a lot of self-knowledge and self-love. People who have succeeded in being authentic know themselves deeply and know their worth .
They practice sincerity with themselves and do not waste their time following stereotypes or superficial fashions. They accept their flaws and work on them to improve every day.
5. They protect themselves physically and emotionally
Another principle of what it means to be authentic is to take care of yourself on every possible level. Because being genuine is related to self-worth, people who are genuine do not neglect themselves.
A person who knows what it is to be authentic allocates time to self-care, whether it’s having healthy routines or surrounding themselves with positive people.
Benefits of being authentic
If you stop worrying about others and focus on you, you ‘ll discover a world where you won’t have to “fit in” with what’s expected, because you’ll be satisfied with you and what you’re worth.
Apart from this, being authentic will bring you more benefits, are you ready to discover them?
1. Inner peace
By knowing yourself better, you will know what you are worth thanks to your characteristics and strengths, which will allow you to be honest in making decisions that are true to your desires. Over time, you will be able to reach a state of calm and great satisfaction in going after your goals.
2. Productivity
This is something you should take advantage of at all times, as it is key to any of the types of job interviews you will experience throughout your professional life. By not having to be burdened with appearances and having a clear understanding of what it means to be authentic, you will be able to perform in any field you desire with peace of mind.
If you fulfill the meaning of being authentic, you will notice that your life will be more bearable, you will not spend energy pretending something you are not, you will be able to concentrate on what really matters and deserves all your attention.
3. Positive friendships
By understanding what it means to be authentic, you know yourself and what you are worth (as well as what you deserve). You will be able to attract people to your circle who identify with your way of thinking and are far from being negative.
This will generate for both of you a pleasant relationship and honest beliefs. No false appearances and pretensions that are far from the philosophy of being yourself. who needs that stress in their life?
4. Exceptional professional
Undoubtedly, you will also benefit from the professional side, as we said at the beginning. By being clear about what it means to be authentic, you have clear goals, you don’t waste time and you can perform each activity with pleasure because you know that it brings you closer and closer to your goals. In addition, it will be easy for you to show your skills and abilities in the workplace.
Sounds like the perfect candidate for companies, don’t you think? We think we’re hearing about a scramble among recruiters to hire you. Well, it’s the advantages of being authentic at work after being honest with yourself.
Techniques to be an authentic person
the moment you’ve been waiting for! Take note of the recommendations that are about to change the direction you have followed so far and learn how to be yourself without fear.
1. Know your values
do you remember what it means to be authentic? Basically, it’s being true to yourself. By being authentic, you’ll be able to identify what’s important to you, even if it’s not the same for the people you know.
Priorities are not always the same for everyone, and that’s okay. The good thing about being honest about your desires and principles is that you will have a clear path to your goals .
Source: Unsplash
2. Keep an open mind
You’re probably used to judging and looking suspiciously at those you don’t know. If you’re focused on what it means to be authentic, it’s time to unlearn this and become tolerant of everyone who crosses your path .
Think about how enriching the experience will be if you meet people from all walks of life and remain genuine, assertive, willing to listen and share experiences.
Another key factor is not to close your mind to a difficult situation, recognize that you are on your way to being genuine and you are capable of solving whatever you propose with your values and strengths.
Source: Unsplash
3. Trust your intuition
when making a decision, didn’t the idea of choosing something totally different that would make you feel better cross your mind? That was your intuition trying to make you think again.
We have all been there and the only important thing is to learn to be honest with yourself, to take that voice into account every time it makes itself known and not let it pass you by as if nothing happened.
Intuition is key and will help you stay an authentic person, true to your own desires. will you put it into practice? It all depends on you, dear reader. While it’s not easy to be authentic in today’s world, we’re sure you can do it.
Source: Unsplash
4. Look at yourself objectively
Learn to look at yourself from the outside to observe your thoughts as you live in the present, as if you were a spectator watching a movie.
In this process observe how you behave, what you believe in, how you react under pressure, and how you respond to challenges. Note which of these actions feel genuine and what things prevent you from being authentic. By identifying the adaptive responses from the authentic ones, you will notice the simulated and see the glimmers of truth.
Remember that authentic people are deep thinkers who generate this power from within and move it outward to add value to the lives of others. Of course, this requires understanding what emotional intelligence is and how to project it into your daily actions.
Source: Unsplash
5. Examine your family beliefs
Most people were raised in some sort of “family-style” environment during their early and most vulnerable years. Think about episodes in your childhood, those that led you to stop being authentic, and instead embrace another way of existing in this world .
By examining where your behaviors come from, you can learn a lot about what it means to be authentic and the importance of being mindful of this value in your life.
Source: Freepik
6. Identify discrepancies between your actions and beliefs
Part of understanding what it means to be authentic is realizing the differences between your actions and your beliefs. Therefore, ask yourself whether you really believe what you say or do. are you saying such words because someone else taught you to do so, or are you performing such an action because you saw it in someone else?
In fact, you may often act in ways that are inconsistent with what it means to be authentic. This is normal. But if you want to be an authentic person, you must make your actions stem from your beliefs.
If you recognize what is true for you now, then you can live your life better. When a person is authentic, it is clear that this requires awareness and honesty in oneself.
Source: Freepik
7. Release thoughts and behaviors that do not strengthen your authenticity
When you encounter a thought, emotion or action that does not represent your authentic self, strive to let it go. Visualization is a good tool for this.
You can place the thought, emotion or action inside a bubble or balloon and let it rise until it disappears. Or if it’s more practical, you can write it down on a piece of paper, cross it out and crumple it up, a physical action that helps your subconscious understand your intentions.
Source: Freepik
8. Develop a growth mindset
As we mentioned before, one of the characteristics of an authentic person is that they are constantly working on their development. If you want to be genuine and make progress, you must develop a growth mindset and learn from every lesson that comes your way before you can move on to a deeper vision.
If you don’t do your daily homework to pay attention to what life has to teach you, you will continue to receive the same lessons over and over again until you learn them. By being open to new insights, you can grow quickly and find the best routes to sustained authenticity.
Source: Ibero
9. Elaborate your own personal and professional development in your own way
You’ve probably received a lot of advice on how to advance your own personal or career development, advice that doesn’t fit your meaning of authenticity.
It’s also possible that your goals don’t fit the typical “career path” often promoted by society. So, as you pursue your ideals, pause to ask yourself if you are on the right goal in the right way for you. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to enjoy the process or the outcome.
Source: Freepik
10. Find your life purpose
When it comes to understanding what it means to be authentic is knowing that this value and your life purpose are closely linked. In fact, a deep sense of your purpose can help you express your authenticity, while developing authenticity will often help you discover your purpose.
You may have an idea floating around in your mind that you want to promote or a vision you want to manifest, right? The key to achieving this is to live with authenticity, and then your purpose will become clearer.
Source: Crossroads Career
11. Make conscious decisions
In this hectic world, people make decisions all the time. Unfortunately, many of these are made in haste in the moment without forethought.
So make sure that each of your decisions supports what it means to be authentic for you. Therefore, don’t let anyone influence you to make an important decision before you’re ready.
Source: Eucet
12. Live in the moment and be a great listener
There is nothing more real than an authentic person who lives in the moment without worrying about unnecessary issues. who do you know who truly embraces the moment? someone who doesn’t bother checking their cell phone every five seconds to check their notifications?
Living in the moment means focusing on exactly what is happening in your life at that precise moment. This requires you to eliminate distractions and clutter in order to live as well as possible.
Being a great listener is not only appropriate for conversations with your loved ones, but also for your professional life. Part of internalizing what it means to be authentic in your life is also listening to that voice inside your head. As mentioned above, pay attention to your intuition and do what your mind tells you to do. This is what an authentic person does.
Exercises to work on authenticity in teams
We have already seen what it is to be authentic on a personal and work level, what its advantages are and what techniques can help you to be an authentic person. Now, if you want to reinforce authenticity in work teams, take note of the following activities.
1. NLP exercise for reinforcing authenticity
This activity can be done in person or via video call. It consists of using Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) to enhance the authenticity of the people in a work team. Take on the role of activity leader and ask each of the participants to follow these steps:
Step 1: Think of situations at work where you have detected lies or lack of authenticity. It may have been someone else or yourself who was responsible for this.
Step 2: Choose one person from the group and tell them about this situation. Find out what the benefits of being inauthentic are. It is important at this point to be 100% honest. For example “I am working in something I don’t like, but it allows me to have a good income at the end of the month”.
Step 3: Now, think about what would happen if that person had been authentic. For example, in the case of the person who works at something they don’t like, what would have happened if they really found their ideal job?
Step 4: Now, include feelings, sensations and emotions in that thought. If you are not the protagonist in the above situation, put yourself in the role. Think: how does it feel to be authentic? Or, applying the example above, what happens when you work at what you love?
It is suggested to repeat this exercise to practice authenticity several times a month. By creating mental images of certain feelings and focusing systemically on something concrete, the person begins to “program” their behaviors to meet their goals .
2. Self-awareness questions
The next activity has to do with questions of self-knowledge and reflection on work authenticity. Ideally, this can be done in small groups or in pairs, so that everyone can express themselves without intimidation.
Suggested questions are as follows:
how did you feel that time you gave an opinion that contradicted that of the majority of people? would you do it again?
when was the last time you faced a fear? what will be the next fear you face and how will you face it?
what do you do if a client asks you to do something that will be detrimental to them or their brand?
what values defined you in the past? which ones define you today?
how demanding are you of yourself?
do you have a long-held opinion that you’ve never been able to share? do you dare to tell it now?
3. Exercise to let go of fears and beliefs
One of the techniques to be an authentic person that we recommended above is to let go of any thought, emotion or action that does not represent your authentic self. this can also be done in a group setting!
A fun way to do this is to ask people to write down on a piece of paper these fears or thoughts that prevent you from being an authentic person. Then, mix up all the papers.
Each participant randomly takes one of these papers and reads it out loud. The challenge here is for that person to say ways in which they can combat that thought.
This is certainly an original way to find quick solutions to the problem of inauthenticity.
4. Feedback sessions
Feedback is fundamental to boost productivity in any work team, but it is also extremely important to reinforce a person’s authenticity.
To this end, we propose the following exercises:
Create a digital board where people can leave their work doubts or recommendations anonymously, and coordinate regular video calls with work teams to answer them.
Organize thematic feedback sessions by teams, including games, questions and role play activities. this is not a mere integration activity; remember that the purpose is for people to give feedback on work issues.
Send out anonymous surveys with self-knowledge questions such as those recommended in point 2. The simple fact that people have to answer them will help them start working on authenticity. In addition, with the responses collected, send regular content on best practices and recommendations for being an authentic person at work.
5. Mindfulness exercise
Mindfulness consists of mindfulness techniques to work on specific objectives and become aware of the present situation. This helps to achieve self-knowledge and to live the day to day with more authenticity, acceptance and tranquility.
According to Martin Reynoso, WPana teacher, “there are challenges where stress and anxiety are often the price we pay for not finding this more balanced way of living, this way of responding with awareness. Therefore, Mindfulness must be trained. It is not only a matter of desire, you need to be able to train it.
In short, mindfulness and authenticity go hand in hand. Therefore, we propose a very simple exercise to enhance this technique in work teams.
This consists of sending regularly (on a certain day and time of the week) a message via chat or email to all the people with the following instructions :
Stop what you are doing and observe what you are doing and your surroundings.
Breathe carefully and consciously.
Return your full attention to the task at hand. Become aware of the present moment
Connect with your present situation. Notice how you feel and what sensations are in your body. Think about the task you were doing before the message came to you: were you giving your full potential? were you being an authentic person? what could you improve?
As we have said, this type of exercise helps to become aware of reality and to act with greater authenticity, without being carried away by routines or stipulated mandates.
Source: Unsplash
We have reached the end of the article and we want to know, are you an authentic person? Now that you know what it means to be authentic and the main techniques to achieve it, there are no excuses not to be!
If you’re still wondering how to be authentic in today’s society, remember to stay true to yourself in every step you take. Don’t feel lesser if you don’t fit in with a certain group, because you’re here to stand out .