I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Magic Lessons, with Liz Gilbert yesterday.  Her guest on this particular episode was Glennon Melton Doyle.  If you don’t know who Glennon is, you need to stop right here and go Google her.  She is known for her blog Momastery, as well as her book Carry On, Warrior.  She has a new book called Love Warrior, that I have yet to read.  She’s known for being real and raw, and I love that.

In her interview, she referred to herself as a shameless truth teller.  It resonated with me SO much, and was even a bit of an a-ha moment for me because in starting my coaching business, it’s been difficult for me to really put my mission into a few simple words that communicate to potential clients what I do.  When I heard her say that she is a “shameless truth teller” I was like “bingo” – that is exactly what I want to accomplish in my work. I want to tell my truth without apology and I want to walk with people on their journey to telling their truth – their story – without apology.  In doing this, it is my dream to create a community of authentic people that experience belonging and connection with each other.

What is a shameless truth teller?  What does that even mean? Here’s what I think:

Tell your stories without apology
My work is about authenticity – finding the person that you are on the inside,  living a life in alignment with that and knowing that it is enough. The tendency in this culture is to feel like we have to have our shit together all the time, and that’s not authentic.  People are afraid to tell the truth – that they really don’t have their shit together, because that’s not ok, and they are somehow “less” because of it. 

Without telling the truth, you can’t be authentic.  And you will never feel like enough, because you are trying to curate this life that looks good on the outside while you long to be ok with what is on your inside.  Competing goals. 

Telling your story shows your humanity.  And when you share, other people see that and it makes them feel safer in telling their truths too.  It’s a sort of “permission” you’re putting out there into the world via the energy that you’re carrying.  And it is contagious. It will create a better world. We all want that.

Connection
Being authentic fosters REAL connection.  When you are not afraid to go beyond the surface with someone, real magic happens, real friends are made.  Your energy changes.

We are wired to crave connection and belonging.  When we try to be someone we’re not just to fit in, it’s fake.  We never really fit in because we’re always going to feel a disconnect between what’s on the inside and the outside.

Telling your truth allows you to get to know yourself deeper
When you hide your truth from the world, you also hide it from yourself. As you unearth more of it, you find a deeper connection with yourself – you’ll get to know parts of yourself again that you haven’t seen since childhood.  You’ll learn new things about yourself. But you can hide from the truth of who you are and expect to get to know yourself on a deeper level.

Living a real and authentic life
Knowing your truth and telling it is the core of living an authentic life.  Once you have this, you know your stories – both the real stories and the ones you make up in your head, you can identify your values and those very important things will light the way for the rest of your life.  They will help you align everything with your truth and guide you go through life.

Showing up as your authentic self helps others do the same
When everyone is putting up walls, only letting the world see the “put together” parts, no one feels like they are allowed to look like they have parts that are not “put together”.  But when you are surrounded by others who share their stories of being humans with flaws and screw-ups, it gives others a safe place to share their not-put-together stories too. It builds community and connection.  Can you imagine a world where everyone felt like just a normal human being without needing to one-up anyone else? Mind blown.

In my work, I talk a lot about authenticity, which can be kind of be a buzz word these days.  What does it really mean to be authentic?  

I’ll leave you with some thoughts. 

For me, authenticity is having the courage to tell your truth and know that it is enough.  To be okay just being… not needing to come in first, not needing to outdo someone else. 

Finding out what your core values are and letting them light the way in your life.  

Knowing yourself so well, and being so comfortable with that person, that you don’t allow yourself to “shape-shift” to fit in. 

To be comfortable in your own skin, but knowing you might have moments where you aren’t, and that’s ok.  You own that. 

It’s believing that your body is enough – no matter what the media says. 

It is reaching out to others that are not practicing authenticity and not being afraid to be real, even though you might have the urge to compete. 

It’s knowing that failure is going to happen and believing that’s ok. Knowing that you just need to get up again and keep trying.  It’s knowing that you are human. And that is MORE than enough.

So, fellow human, let’s all strive to be shameless truth tellers.  Why don’t we all strive to practice courage and show up authentically?  It takes courage and leaning in to some discomfort, but I think it’s worth it.  

How can you practice courage in being a shameless truth teller?  I want to hear your thoughts in the comments. Let’s start a conversation!