compounding authenticity
Today’s Note is a little different than usual…
I have an idea I’ve been marinating on for at least a week now–it’s not a new idea, but it’s a new way to look at the authentic life and how we arrive at the version of it that we hold in our mind, which is often an authentic life of a future version of our Self…it’s the one we are moving towards.
What prompted this thinking was a DM from a friend on LinkedIn sharing how he was feeling a bit frustrated that his current authenticity wasn’t resulting in the authentic life he desired. When I received his message, I immediately responded by sharing how I believed that if he was being his authentic Self, then he ,was in fact, living his authentic life in that current moment. The disconnect was that the authentic life he envisioned was one in the future, that will happen, but progress must be made for that authentic life to be authentic in the present moment.
Basically, he was mistaking his current authentic life for his future authentic life, resulting in his frustration.
I hope that makes sense…it does as I write it. That's why today’s Note is different. I decided I needed to start flushing this idea out and get my thoughts down on paper. What better place than a Daily Note?
The idea I’m working on being able to explain is that the way we arrive at our future authentic life, which is what most of us envision when we think about the life we desire, is through the compounding of daily authentic living.
If you focus on living true to your Self and what is authentic in the present moment and continue to do so, you will always be living your authentic life. These micro authentic lives will compound to bring you to the future authentic life you desire, or a version of it that is authentic to you when you arrive there.
We are visual and goal-oriented beings. It’s only natural to see, feel, and get excited for a better version of our Selves and a life more aligned with who we are created to be. We fail to remember that there is a gap between the You today and the You in the future. What will fill that gap is the compounding of your daily authentic lives; over time you will naturally and authentically grow into that version of your Self and shortly after the physical world will catch up–don’t let the lag in recognition from the rest of the world deter you from recognizing your progress along the way.
It’s important to understand that this compounding effect has to occur because it’s very easy to lose focus and even confidence in the path you have chosen when you feel as if the life you are designing is not the one you are experiencing at that moment, which leads most people to abandon the path towards the life they are pursuing.
If you wake up each morning reminding your Self that you are going to live that day true to your authentic Self, trust in the Universe to continue to guide you towards the future Self you are becoming, and keep pursuing, I believe you’ll avoid allowing frustration to derail your evolution.
I know this to be true because I battle it regularly.
My post from last year The Overnight Success That Took Ten Years To Build was the result of the “aha moment” when I connected the dots…I couldn’t be that future version of my Self and live that authentic life today, even if it was here. I have a lot of personal growth and family dynamics to change (the boys getting older and out on their own) before I could even be that authentic version of my Self, which is the one I think about when I think about the future.
My friend is not alone in his frustration, but now that I know to focus on each day’s authentic life and trust that I’ll end up near the future version my Self I envision, I can avoid feeling frustrated, rushed, or disappointed.
One final thought…
The authentic life you envision for your future Self may or may not be what it is supposed to be in the future. Between now and the future version you will evolve, experience, and learn new things that might change who you want your future Self to be and what you want your future authentic life to look like. This is another reason not to get too attached to your future Self and authentic life—think of them more as the direction you want to head, point your ship in that direction, and then set off allowing each day to move you closer to where you are supposed to land.
I appreciate you allowing me to get these thoughts down on paper; even though I have a lot of work in cleaning them up and making this concept easier to digest, I hope some of this made sense today.
I’d also love any feedback or ideas you have that might help me see a different angel to explain this important idea:
“Your future authentic Self and life are a result of the compounding of your daily authentic lives.”
🎧 Listen to today's Note on the LifeDesign+ podcast.
See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,
JC
🦅 Some ways I might be able to help you live your authentic life:
🤝 One on Ones Let's hop on Zoom to do a guided meditation, a creative brainstorming session, or an overcoming an obstacle session.
📝 LifeDesign+ LifeDesign+ is rooted in the Kinder Institute of Life Planning’s EVOKE process, which is a five-step process to help discover what your authentic life looks like and begin to design a plan to bring that life to reality. It continues to incorporate the alignment of your spirit, mind, and body to ensure you evolve with your authentic life, as the authentic life is not a destination, it’s an evolution.
💸 AlignedLife+ AlignedLife+ (and the one-time engagement AlignedLife) takes LifeDesign+ to the next level by aligning your finances with your authentic life at RLS Wealth. For individuals looking for a financial advisor to help design and manage their financial plan while maintaining the alignment of spirit, mind, body, and money, AlignedLife+ was created specifically for you.
📈 LifeDesign+ for financial advisors LifeDesign+ for financial advisors mirrors the LifeDesign+ relationship, including the focus on the alignment of spirit, mind, and body, with an important distinction—once the plan for your authentic life has been designed, we shift our focus to integrating your new plan with your practice.
🤝 Outsourced life planning As your outsourced life planner, you bring me in to take your client through the Kinder Institute of Life Planning’s EVOKE process to help them better understand who they are, what they want their life to look like, and create a vision of this life for you to execute on the financial plan. Since you are their financial advisor, you will be a part of each of the meetings, so you understand the “why” behind your client’s new plan.
