“Made in Italy,” is what it says on the bottom of the coffee mug that I purchased at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.
“Made in China,” is imprinted on the coffee mug from the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Disappointed? I was! Whereas the Italian stallion was true to itself, the American muscle car was inauthentic. The very symbol of American speed, agility, and achievement, in its representative products, was a poser.
In our own lives, it’s just as important to be authentic. Face it, there is only ONE of you in the world. Think of yourself as “custom,” “one of a kind,” or “rare.” Take your favorite way to describe your uniqueness and let it shine.
Here are a few ways to uncover that brilliance:
1. Ignore the masses.
It’s easy to follow the crowd. It’s much harder to stand alone, in your strength, believing that your way is the right way…for you. Resist peer pressure, or “keeping up with Joneses.” Find your own pathway irrespective of how much others may chastise, ridicule, or pressure you. You are not carving their way…but your own.
2. Know Your Why’s
Striving for a goal, in the face of adversity, demands its own engine. That engine is your WHY. Why do you want to do this? Why do you want to acquire this? Why do you feel like it’s important to go after? Only self-motivation can drive us when conventional reason beckons us to recoil. The powerful force of WHY unveils your reason to charge ahead.
3. Listen to that Inner Voice
Inner wisdom is ours, to hear or ignore. Practice hearing your inner guidance. Meditation helps. Silence helps even more. Walking or being in nature, while not doing anything else (especially thinking) presents your inner voice with a megaphone. Try it! The more you tune into this part of yourself, the more your own self-awareness grows.
4. Practice Variations
Trial and error reveals our likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. It uncovers truths while defining who we are.
- Try something different each day.
- Switch your schedule, your route, your attitude.
- Do a complete 180 about a subject and see how it feels.
- Attempt new hobbies, new foods, new friends.
- Learn a new habit.
- Discover what YOU like, repeatedly.
5. Be Brave (to be different)
This is really the key. Being unique requires courage. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. And before you know it, suddenly you are not trying to be you…you simply are!
That is the whole fun of life. Not following another’s path but rather creating your own. So, if you want to be a yoga loving, healthy eating individual who loves table tennis, punk rock, and a great steak during a full moon…do it!
Like those coffee mugs, authenticity roars while inauthenticity simply disappoints. Follow the advice inscribed at the forecourt of the ancient Greek Temple at Delphi: “Temet Nosce,” or Know Thyself!