Happy New Year everyone. This year I have decided not to pursue New Year Resolutions rather explore what kind of life I wish to lead for 2019 and onwards. For this, I have decided to explore the concept of authenticity.

I was chatting with someone recently and he made a very valid point that “Fake News” is everywhere! Now I am not talking about politics of any sort but let us take a look at our own lives and watch for the fake news that impacts on us.

Social media for me is a major culprit of “modified biography”. And we all are guilty of it. What I mean by this is when we are putting the beautifully crafted photos on Facebook/Instagram etc depicting a glamorous, glorious lifestyle to the world while maybe our own lives aren’t so pretty or shiny.

How many of us have put a photo of our children on Facebook looking angelic, and the reality was that the children were little devils for the rest of the day?!! We are putting an image forward that everything is amazing, we are successful, and our children are angels, while the reality could be a whole different story. Long ago there was the phrase “keeping up with the Jones’”- we looked to the neighbors and compared ourselves to all their success, whereas now the “Jones family” is the complete fantasy world of social influencer/models/celebrities/ sales team and “fake news”.

The reality is I meet people all the time that are struggling and embarrassed to say it. I hear mothers trying to simultaneously be the super moms and the super career women that is expected of them and are exhausted. I hear young people feeling pressure to live the glam life when they are struggling for rent. I hear real-life stories every day of difficult experiences, of disappointment in their current reality, exacerbated by the perception that someone else’s life as seen on social media is so much better than theirs.

So back to my idea of Authentic Living: “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we are supposed to be and embracing who we are” Brenee Brown.

This year is your year, to learn who you are, not what others think you are or want you to be. This year is the year that you return yourself, to your values and your centre. Discover what is most important to you and live by that. Ask yourself “who would I be if I allowed myself to be completely me?” Life will not be picture-perfect all the time but maybe if you start to own the direction you wish to take, then you might begin to enjoy the journey. You are the captain of your ship, you decide the course.

“When you show up authentic, you create the space for others to do the same. Walk in your truth” unknown author.