Authenticity At Work
Authenticity has become such a buzz that we feel the need to add our thoughts to the discussion. You can read it everywhere: Be Yourself! Be You! Come Into Your Own! Actually, it has become such a strong trend that we start hearing about it more and more in the working world. We are strong advocates for authenticity – if it’s done right!
But what does Authenticity actually mean in a working context? How can people be authentic at work and with colleagues? That’s what we’re after.
There is a common misconception out there that being yourself means that you kick all your good manners, political correctness, kindness and social conventions to the curb to speak your mind to get what you want – no matter what. And should you receive pushback, you could excuse your behavior with a simple remark such as “I’m just being real” or “I’m being authentic here” or “I’m just being honest!” as an excuse to be a jerk.
Blurting out whatever comes to your mind without consideration, filter or sensitivity for others is not authentic at all. It’s mindless and selfish! It can even verge on bullying others. And that has certainly no place in a functional working environment.
Our take on authenticity is quite different. Being authentic means that you act and communicate according to your inner grain – your energetic blueprint. We all have a grain, a pattern, a way how we perceive, frame and construct our world. Being authentic means that you create your work life in unison with that energy and not against your grain. Being authentic in that sense means that you drop your mask, that you don’t need to armor up before you go to work, that you don’t need to leave part of who you are behind just to fit in. That you feel safe and empowered to be.
Actually, if you don’t do that you will end up generating a lot of friction within yourself. Am I doing it right? How am I coming across? How do I have to be to fit it? Those may just be a couple of questions that may keep you from engaging fully, from being fully present at work.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just accept who you are? To relax into it? To speak from that vantage point? Without having to compromise on kindness and courtesy? That’s what happens when you start working from your energetic core, from your center, from who you really are. Once you overcome the hurdle of not having to be a certain way, things get much easier.
This is what we mean by being authentic:
Know your energetic core
Drop the mask and leave the armor behind
Stop trying to fit in, it doesn’t work anyway
Work and live from your energetic core
Relax into knowing that you are enough
Please know that you have not come here to fit in. You have not come here to hide or suffer. We’ve all been dealt a deck of cards and it is on us how to play it.
Here’s my wish for you: That you know you’re enough. That you don’t feel the need to fit in. That you can feel at home at work.
Many Blessings, Dr. Vic
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