Discovering the Authentic You

Who am I, anyway?

3 years ago, I underwent a faith crisis and eventually a faith transition.

Up until this point, my faith had been the defining characteristic of my life. It informed every other part of who I was. It told me who I was as a woman, what was expected of me as a wife and mother. My faith also dictated how I viewed the world and the people in it. All of my decisions and views were wrapped in my faith.

So, you can imagine, when I left that part of me behind, I felt lost.

Who was the person inside of me?

What did she want in life?

What did she like?

What were her values?

What were her dreams?

Slipping into the new you is like slipping into a pair of new shoes

When you don’t know who you are or what you want, you can feel lost. It can be hard to know which direction to go next.

During this time of self discovery, I found comfort in giving myself freedom to “try on” new things. I told myself it was like shoe shopping.

When you go to a shoe store, you don’t worry about which pair you’ll try on. You know what size of shoe you need. You might have a clear vision of what kind of shoe you are looking for. But you might not know the specifics yet. You come to the store open to options.

You give yourself freedom to browse without judgement. To look at all of the pairs of shoes. To consider options you might not have thought about before.

You are allowed to try things on and discard things that don’t work.

Just because you tried on a pair of shoes doesn’t mean you have to purchase them. And even if you purchase them, it doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind later.

Give yourself permission to browse

Finding the authentic you is just like shoe shopping.

Listen to the yearnings inside of you. Pay attention to what they say.

Give yourself permission to research options without judgment. Be open to what is out there and listen to what calls to you.

Allow yourself the freedom to try things on and see how they fit.

If it makes you feel good, keep it. If it doesn’t, discard it.

Before long, you’ll know exactly which pair of shoes feel best…or you may find you have a closet full of different pairs for different situations…and that’s ok too. You do you, Boo!