How To be Aligned With Your True Self
1. Firstly, and most importantly, love yourself. You can only start being aligned with your true self if you love yourself. To read more about self-love, here is a previous blog post of mine called ‘Treat Yo Self… Lovingly.' Shahirah, my soul sister, also talks about self-love in ‘Faith Friday: Divine love or Self-love?’
2. Write down your values and morals. And ask yourself these questions: “Do I reflect these acts of virtues? "Do I like who I am? or "Does something need to change?” When you love yourself and like who you are as person, that is when you know you are aligned with your true self.
3. Realise that change starts from within you. I’ve realised that I kept blaming my past, other people and my circumstances as to why I was the way I was and it made me believe that I couldn’t do anything. I thought that I was a victim but I was a victim of the lies that I told myself. Lies like I was unworthy, that I can’t achieve something because I don’t have this or that for me to be successful or that I don't have any control. You do have contol. You can control your thoughts and your actions. I just had to stop believing in those lies and I stopped telling myself the same old story as you can't re-create yourself or write your new chapter if you keep rereading the past..
4. Start an “I am” and gratitude journal. When you write things down of who you are everyday, you start to believe it and become it. Also, the more grateful you are, the more happier you will be. Read more in a previous blog post here. By starting and "I am" journal you get a sense of who you want to be in life and therefore, this will help you be aligned with your true self.
5. Realise that your past doesn’t define who you are in totality. I say in totality because, yes to a certain point, your past really does shape who you are as a person. You experience and you learn. And when you know better you do better. By doing better, you know what you want in life and this helps you be aligned with your true self. In saying this, forgive yourself for anything you might have done in the past. Because what is done is done, the only thing that you should focus on is NOW. Where you can now focus on being your greatest version. Start by getting rid of toxic people and bad habits. Only have space for people or things that serve you and this includes your thoughts. Be positive about yourself and your future. Stay there.
6. Determine what your purpose in life is and what success is to you. Everyone has their own definition of success and everyone has a different purpose. Write them down. They say that when you know what your purpose in life is and you are taking the steps to achieve your purpose, you are aligning with your true self.
7. Write down what you want to achieve in in life. Short term (within the next couple of months) and long term (within the next five years). This will give you a sense of direction. Everyday remind yourself of these goals. Remind yourself that you have the potential to be successful. That you deserve abundance. And that you determine your own future by your actions. Take control of your life. Be more organised by having a to-do list or planner; there is no need to go out and buy them, you could even get an app on your smart phone and that way it is easier to access and note down. Before you do anything in life, ask yourself if your actions will benefit you as a person or in the future.
8. TAKE RADICAL ACTION. Don’t just write it down and tell people what you want to do. Do what you need to do in order for you to be successful. But don’t burn yourself out too much. Ask people for help, trust me, people do want you to be successful, especially those who loves you and cares about you.
9. Be easy on yourself. Don’t stress too much and relax. Treat yourself nicely and take care of yourself including your health and well-being. Make them a priority. You can only be your greatest version when your body has the energy to do so. Nonetheless, everything will be okay. Your true self is when you are at your most natural state: when you are happy and smiling because you are convinced that everything will be okay. I've added this quote in the past for many of my blog posts and I will add it again:
“No amount of guilt can change the past, and no amount of worrying can change the future. Go easy on yourself, for the outcome of all affairs is determined by Allah’s decree.
If something is meant to go elsewhere, it will never come your way, but if it is yours by destiny, from it you cannot flee.”
10. Believe in yourself. Believe that you are going to do great things. Believe that you will be successful. It may not happen now or in the next week or even months. But remember, good things do take time. Be persistent. Be optimistic. Stay hopeful but do what you need to do to be successful. We can be our worst critics someimes, I know I am, but once I stopped being critical of myself, I started to believe in myself and it felt so good. Right now, the future seems so bright and the best thing about it is that I'm leading the way and I'm not going to let anything or anyone stop me from being the success that I want to be. By doing so and having the right mindset, I now feel like I am aligned with my true self.