BLOG 140: THE 3 WAYS YOU CAN BECOME THE MOST UNAPOLOGETIC, AUTHENTIC VERSION OF YOURSELF
Mar 22, 2022In a world that is often dominated by masculine energy, it can be difficult to embrace our feminine sides and become our full, authentic selves. So many topics feel like they are off-limits or taboo, making it hard for us to share our experiences and come to know ourselves fully.
Those of you who read this blog tend to be the most amazing, conscious, highly sensitive individuals. I know many of you share my desire to make a difference in the world and love to support other people to be their best selves.
But that desire can often come at the cost of our own time, energy, and health. We might find that we get lost in serving others, forgetting to love and care for ourselves.
If we want to avoid burnout, we need to find the balance between our work for others and honouring our own needs. Becoming aware, awakened, and spiritually conscious requires us to embrace our authentic, unapologetic selves. But that is easier said than done.
One woman who has been leading the way in this area is coach and medicine woman, Amy Rushworth. Amy’s own journey of healing set her on the path to guide others, and she now works with women around the world, helping them become their unapologetic selves, rediscover the power of the feminine, and embrace pleasure, success, and wealth.
Amy joined me recently over on the Face Yoga Expert Podcast to talk about steps we can all take to become the most authentic version of ourselves. You can catch up with the episode here or read on for three ways to start the journey to living your truth without apology.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE UNAPOLOGETIC?
Plenty of people talk about living unapologetically, but I often feel that this message isn’t reflected in how they put themselves out there. Amy, on the other hand, is the real deal. She seems to genuinely embody being the fullest, most authentic version of herself.
Part of this is her willingness to speak about topics that are often considered off-limits, especially to women. Sex, sexuality, femininity, money – things that women are usually conditioned to stay quiet about, Amy discusses openly and unapologetically.
However, being unapologetic doesn’t always look this way. People often mistake it as needing to be very bold and out there, but not everyone resonates with this personality type. Instead, it is about being who you are, untethered from all the stories you’ve been told about yourself by your upbringing, your society, your culture, and other people.
It is about being brave enough to try something, fail, learn, and expand through that process. It is about being endlessly curious, willing to change, and ready to explore the purest, most authentic expression of yourself.
Being unapologetic also means having strong boundaries. We’re often expected to give and give ourselves without limit, which only leads to burnout. But when we honour our own needs, boundaries, and desires, we’re able to respect other people’s too.
At its core, being unapologetic is the journey of removing everything that isn’t you, so you can shine in the world.
So, how do you make this way of being a reality? It’s important to understand that this is a life-long process. There’s no quick fix. It takes work, commitment, and courage. But here are three things to inspire you on your way.
1. BALANCE THE FEMININE AND THE MASCULINE
We all tend to assimilate into the society we live in because that is what makes us feel safe. And today’s world is very dominated by unhealthy masculine energy – one that prioritises hustle and grind, making us feel like we always need to be busy doing if we want to succeed.
One of the ways we come closer to our authentic selves is by learning to balance our masculine and feminine energy. These aren’t two opposing powers, but complementary ones. Amy likens it to a dance, a tango between two partners. We are most powerful when the two energies are in harmony and union.
We don’t need to abandon the masculine. We all have this energy within us. But we can redefine what that looks like. Instead of hustle and burnout, we can look to the masculine as a container. It holds space, keeps us grounded, and helps us stay present.
Then, we can invite and embrace our feminine energy to bring the two into harmony. Reconnecting to your body is one of the best ways to do this, for example through somatic therapy, touch-based meditation, massage, or even yoga.
Sometimes it can be as simple as becoming more aware of your menstrual cycle and the different seasons within it. Honouring your bleed and letting that be a time when you slow down and nourish yourself, then embracing the week after as a time to do the things that require a bit more hustle.
Let your body be a compass. You might be surprised to find you are actually more efficient, even though you allow more time to rest and relax.
For years, I thought that succeeding in business meant being constantly busy doing. But working that way didn’t bring me the results I wanted, health-wise, financially, or in terms of being able to help the most people.
It was only when I started to prioritise relaxation and body-based practices that I found a good balance. Now, I’ll start my morning with exercise, yoga, perhaps some time in the spa at the gym. That’s my creative time and is when most of my ideas come to me. The second half of the day is when I do more obviously work-related things, starting to turn those ideas into reality. But both parts are equally vital to my business.
2. LEARN TO TELL FEAR FROM INTUITION
I’ve talked before about how important listening to my intuition has been in guiding my business, and my life. But it can be hard to tell the difference between the voice of our intuition and the voice of fear, or social conditioning. How do we know which voice we should listen to so that we can live an authentic, soul-aligned life?
Firstly, Amy recommends prioritising healing, especially body-based healing. Intuition is hard to hear if you haven’t worked through this healing first. It often gets drowned out by all the other voices shouting in our heads.
The more we work through our triggers and learn how different emotions show up in our bodies, the better we’ll get at telling the difference between our intuition and our fear.
Secondly, intuition tends to be more like a quiet little hum in the back of our minds. If something is loud, aggressive, or obsessive, it normally comes from fear instead.
This doesn’t mean it’s wrong, necessarily. But it is an invitation to sit with the thought for a while and examine where it is coming from before making a big decision.
Learning to trust the voice of our intuition can be tough. We’re taught to be more trusting of the logical masculine than the intuitive feminine. Choosing to trust that small voice, even when it seems illogical, is one of the most important steps on your journey to your authentic self.
3. DON’T BE AFRAID OF FAILURE
Finally, if we are to live unapologetic and authentic lives, we need to be prepared to fail. Instead of treating failure as a disaster, we need to see it as a learning experience. When we’re open to getting things wrong, picking ourselves up, and trying again, we gain wisdom and clarity along the way.
Underlying this is a deep trust in ourselves. To be willing to fail, we must trust that we can turn things around if they go wrong. Following those little nudges is an act of faith in ourselves to learn and grow through the journey.
Amy believes our intuition sometimes guides us to make moves that aren’t right for us deliberately, so we can gain the clarity we need to take the next steps.
It takes courage and tenacity to make choices we believe are correct, even when there’s no logical evidence to back us up. But this is when our most potent manifestations take place.
CARRY ON LEARNING
I hope this post has inspired you to dive deeper into your intuition, embrace your feminine energy, and step closer to your most authentic and unapologetic self.
I welcome wellness experts like Amy onto my podcast most weeks to share their wisdom, advice, and tips. You can find past episodes on my website or on all the usual podcast platforms.