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As an individual who is on a quest to master the art of
living, I am always seeking to differentiate between the people that live
extraordinary lives from the ones that live ordinary lives; between the people
that have extraordinary relationships from the people that have ordinary, or
even worse, dismal relationships; between the people that are seemingly transcendently
connected to themselves and the people around them from the people who live
their lives in inner turmoil and disconnected from the world around them. How do we go beyond the status
quo and begin to create transformation lives for ourselves and the people
around us? How do we find peace,
love, and abundance in all areas of our life, and most of all, how do we live a
life of intense meaning and purpose in order to leave this world a better place
just because we lived in it? As I
have said before, the quality of the questions we ask will determine the
quality of our life. We are a
reflection of where we place our focus.
Where our attention goes, our energy flows, and where our energy flows
is where we create our reality.
What are you creating?
I’ll tell you what I am creating in my life. I call these the 5 Foundational
Qualities to Master the Art of Living.
They are Authenticity, Commitment, Attraction, Decisiveness, and Faith.
Each of the next 5 posts will tackle each of the 5 Qualities. Let’s begin with the first one – Authenticity.
Authenticity is incredibly powerful. It is the demonstration of your true
being down to your very core. It
is the full acceptance of who you are as you are and demonstrating that to the
world. It is embracing the
strengths and weaknesses you possess, and even loving yourself for them. It is defining and living accordance to
your highest values. It is being
true to your word and being honest in all that you do. People that are authentic radiate trust
and have a deep connection with themselves that is envious to most people. The path to authenticity begins with
“Living Consciously “ and then full “Self-Acceptance” as Nathaniel Branden
describes so well in his book Six Pillars
of Self-Esteem.
You must first be present and aware of everything in your
life, from what goes on externally to the feelings and emotions it creates
inside of you. It is full and
complete awareness of the “good” and the “bad” in your life. Many of us are taught to shut out negative
emotions and only think positively.
That’s not living. That’s
only half of living. We must live
with the openness and the awareness to allow everything into our life, and be
present in the process. Only from
this presence can we move to the next step which is “Self-Acceptance.” This is
a level of unconditional, complete, and full self-acceptance of everything
about who we are, where we are, and what we currently stand for. I know this last sentence was full of
redundancy, but I really want to get my point across. You do not get to choose what to accept and what you don’t
accept about yourself. You must
accept everything about your current life situation, because only then can you
transcend who you are in the present and take responsibility to create who you
choose to become from this point forward.
This is the toughest step for most, yet if you can take steps to fall in
unconditional love with yourself for who you are and exactly as you are, you
will feel a sense of joy and freedom you never knew was possible. I am still working on these steps
myself, but even a small glimpse into what is possible when I have mastered the
art of living authentically through the practice of “Living Consciously” and “Self-Acceptance” has given me a
level of excitement and boyish wonder to what is truly possible which is a
world of unlimited possibility.
We only have a very short time on this planet. Every moment
passed is a moment we never get back.
We all get the same time
everyday to make a difference in our lives and the lives of those around us. What
are you going to do with it?
Love,
Matt
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