7 Tips for Mom Entrepreneurs to Tap Into Your Authentic Self

Every morning, my four year old daughter runs into my bedroom and jumps onto the bed with glee that the day has begun and she is ready to play. Throughout the day, she feels her energy and is in tune with her desires. When she doesn't get what she wants, she uses innate strategies to try to achieve her goals. She does not take no for an answer, but instead tries new ways to get the results she is looking for. She lives in the moment and is always authentic (which is fabulous, but sometimes can be embarrassing for the rest of us).
Youth is amazing from the standpoint of authenticity. Children can be completely uninhibited and in the moment, genuine to the core and flowing over with love and passion. It is during our teens when we start to doubt ourselves and when these fears start to have an impact on the results we get. This is when many of us begin to lose touch with our authentic selves.
When we are being our authentic selves, we attract people, situations and things that open opportunities for growth. However, if we have spent many years trying to escape who we are and trying be who we think people want us to be, these opportunities will decrease until we can find our true self again. It is never too late to tap into the truth of who you are and to grab on to the potential of your dreams.
Here are 7 tips that will allow you to tap into your authentic self so you can attract the people, places, things and opportunities that will bring growth to your life.
1. Start every morning with at least 15 minutes of meditation and quiet. This act alone forces you to be with yourself and reconnect with your true nature. It will have positive effects on your mental, physical and spiritual self. Meditation and stillness will have a profound impact on your entire day and will allow you to tap into your inner calmness no matter what you face.
2. Keep a gratitude journal and write at least 3 things that you are grateful for every morning. At least once a week, try to fill a whole page with things you are grateful for. Don't worry about repeating yourself. Actually, if you repeat the same thing over and over, it means you will receive more of it! Expressing gratitude will allow you to feel the truth of your experience. Be grateful for being you!
3. Allow yourself to play every day. Whether this means that you play a sport, piece together a puzzle, play a game or play with your child's Barbie collection- just play! Play with your kids or by yourself. It doesn't matter as long as you allow yourself to get lost in the activity that you are participating in. Play is one thing that adults grow out of, but the reality is that it is one of the healthiest activities we can indulge in. Play frees us from our obligations and let's us be who we are in the moment.
4. Create a vision board that includes everything you want to have, do and be in your life. Make this board as big as you can fit in your living space and place this magical map in a spot where you will see it every day, multiple times (kitchen, above your desk, bedroom, etc). Only include what you want in your life. Do not include anything that someone else has envisioned for you (unless it fits your ultimate goal). We live in a visual world, so having your dreams charted before you will allow you to make the choices that are in alignment with who you truly are and what your mission is in life.
5. Be proud of yourself. Do not apologize for who you are. Accept yourself and embrace your truth. Be proud of your successes and your failures. Don't be ashamed of mistakes because no one is perfect and mistakes allow us to grow. If you have not reached your end goal yet, allow yourself to be a "work-in-progress". Set time lines for your goals, but be realistic and don't beat yourself up if you need a little more time to complete your tasks. Give yourself the respect that you expect from others and be proud of who you are and all you have done in your life!
6. Let go of trying to be perfect, no one is. This goes with #6, but I felt the need to list it as a separate tip because as women, so many of us have this idea that we need to be perfect (the perfect hair, the perfect weight, the perfect couple, the perfect mom, the perfect perfect perfect...) and the reality is there is no such thing as perfect. In fact, when we think we do have the perfect hair, for instance, all of a sudden the thunder strikes, rain starts to fall and our perfect hair becomes a perfect mess in a perfect storm. Let the idea of perfect- anything- go. The goal is to be good enough. Just be the best you can be and that is good enough. Period. Find comfort in knowing that you will never be perfect no matter what you do and that is okay!
7. Surround yourself with people who appreciate you when you are just being you. I have realized that when I have felt completely inauthentic it was because I was surrounding myself with people who were not being authentic themselves (which meant I was not able to be authentic). When people around you are putting on a show and not being true about who they are, it creates a negative energy field which is draining. Choose to surround yourself with people who give you energy and inspiration. These are the people who will love you for who you are and who will enable you to spread your wings and fly, like my 4 year old who greets every day with her authentic, wonderful, happy self.
Being authentic is a goal that is really important for mothers because we are role models for our children. When people are inauthentic, anxiety, depression and unhappiness are inevitable. Teach your children to be authentic by representing authenticity yourself. These 7 simple tips will make a tremendous difference in your level of authenticity and your overall happiness.