When you stop to look at your life and the way you’re living, does it feel authentic to who you are? 

Do you feel aligned with yourself? 

Or do you often feel displaced…like you’re running through the motions each day, stuck on auto-pilot, allowing your subconscious to run the show?

Believe it or not, this is pretty common. 

When you take a look at our social conditioning and our tendencies toward seeking external validation, it’s easy to see how many of us conform to the expectations we’ve placed on ourselves based on those around us or the social norms that we grew up around.  

But when you live this way, you can lose sight of your personal values and go years with your truth buried deep within you. Not really knowing yourself can create a tumultuous home for your mind, filling you with self-doubt and a sense of uneasiness. Without even realizing it, you can end up leading a life that isn’t true to who you are. 

This is what we call not living in your truth. 

What happens when you get to this point? 

You start reaching for things to make you feel whole or fill a void within you. And it only makes sense – after all, we all want to feel safe and at home in our bodies and minds. But when you’re not living in your truth, you’ll find yourself forever chasing after the next thing to fill that empty space that only you have the power to fill. 

The good news? 

You can develop a level of contentment within you that makes you feel at home no matter where you are. A home where you don’t feel the need to fill a void, and it starts with living in your truth. 

What It Means To Live In Your Truth

First of all, this has nothing to do with striving for perfection or some idealistic version of yourself. In fact, all flaws and less-than-desirable parts are welcome here. 

Living in your truth involves a deep understanding of yourself—your strengths, weaknesses, desires, and boundaries—and consciously aligning your life choices with your authentic self.

It’s being true to who you are at your core, embracing your values, passions, and beliefs, and allowing them to guide your thoughts, actions, and decisions. This allows you to live a life in alignment with yourself, and develops a sense of inner peace and fulfillment. 

This is how it feels to live in your truth. 

1. You live in balance.

Anchoring down in your self-truth gives you a solid foundation of resiliency despite the many challenges life will inevitably throw your way. When you’re grounded in your authentic self, you have a strong foundation to navigate life’s ups and downs with resilience and grace.

2. You don’t feel the need to grasp onto external things.

When you’re going through hard times, you are living in your truth if you’re able to lean on yourself and sit through feelings of discomfort without feeling the need to fill a void or find something to “complete” you in some way. This isn’t to say you don’t seek out support – the support of friends and family is incredibly important and valuable, but learning to lean on yourself is paramount, and being able to do so is a strong indication of living in your truth. 

3. You’re able to receive validation from within.

When you achieve something or start to see progress in your journey, you’re living in your truth when you can feel proud and validated by your internal narrative. Sure, hearing praise from external sources feels good, and that’s great! It can be a wonderful boost. But trusting and relying on yourself builds an unshakeable self-assuredness and self-trust that will continue to boost you forward. 

4. You understand your value is more than what you do. 

Your value is innately within you – it is part of you, and you are already whole just as you are. Understanding your value is an incredibly supportive and grounding thing, and it is not tied to what you do or do not accomplish in life.   

Why We Turn To Escapism & How It Pulls Us From Living In Our Truth 

It’s only normal that you get overwhelmed by the many situations you are dealt in life and the feelings that come along with them. 

Whether it’s grief from loss, a big life change, or simply the everyday pressure you put on yourself to show up in a certain way, life can wear on you and leave you burdened with feelings that can be difficult to process. 

Escapism is when we seek out a coping mechanism to soften the depth of these feelings. It’s your brain’s way of protecting you and keeping you safe. 

There are various ways we turn to escapism – some of which can be healthy when balanced well, such as physical activity or scheduling downtime to watch your favorite show. 

But some means of escapism can be detrimental to your well-being. These include overuse of social media, losing yourself in work, shopping, substance use or other addictive behaviors, overeating, or excessively daydreaming.  

When you slip into overindulgence, you subconsciously start seeking out that dopamine rush (the natural high from the reward center of your brain that says “Yes! We like this, give us more!”). This is when you create the false narrative “When xyz happens, then I will feel better.. things will be better…I will be happier”. 

But as long as you are in misalignment with what is true to you, this cycle continues on a never-ending loop. 

So how do you know you’re out of alignment? 

Signs You May Be Misaligned With Living In Your Truth 

Feeling out of alignment with yourself and not living true to your values can feel different for everyone and be a very unique experience, but having an idea of how misalignment can present in your life may be helpful in determining where you’re at. 

Here are some of the signs that you may be misaligned with living in your truth.

1. You have feelings of discontent. 

You often feel dissatisfied or unfulfilled. Even if you have been moving the needle on progress and are doing well, there’s a persistent sense of something missing or not quite right in your life.

2.  You feel the need to constantly seek approval. 

You rely heavily on external validation or the opinions of others to make decisions or define your self-worth. Your happiness and confidence are tied to how others perceive you.

3. You don’t feel in tune with your intuition. 

This can be a tough one to recognize if you aren’t aware of how it feels to listen to your intuition, but if you regularly ignore your gut feelings when making decisions and instead follow what others expect of you, you’re going against your intuition. 

4. You live according to the expectations of others. 

Your life choices are primarily influenced by societal expectations, family pressure, or cultural norms, rather than your own values, passions, and desires.

5. You feel drained and exhausted. 

Being tired is one thing, but if you often feel exhausted and burned out even when engaging in activities that most would find enjoyable or fulfilling, it may be that you’re living out of alignment. This is also in line with feeling a lack of joy or passion for things in life. This may be true for you if you go through the motions but don’t feel genuinely enthusiastic about your pursuits or interests.  

6. You carry a lot of self-doubt and insecurity. 

You experience frequent self-doubt, insecurity, or imposter syndrome, questioning whether you’re living up to your potential or being true to yourself. Internal conflict can also lead to physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach aches. 

7. You find yourself engaging in escapism or avoidance. 

As we talked about before, escapism can become a problem when we overindulge to the point of negatively affecting our lives. Some of these actions can include binge-watching TV, overeating, or overuse of social media as a way to distract yourself from facing the reality of your situation.

Getting Back To You – How To Find A Home Within Yourself 

At Livable Spaces, we use The SHiFT Method^Ⓡ with our clients to enhance and completely transform their lives, and living in your truth is a deeply rooted aspect of everything that encompasses what it means to lead a deserving life. 

Let’s take a peek at how living in your truth directly impacts the various aspects of what makes The SHiFT Method^Ⓡ meaningful. 

S – Social 

When you are living in your truth, your social life can be positively impacted in many ways, some of which include: 

-producing more authentic, meaningful, and fulfilling relationships 

-enhancing healthy communication and conflict resolution in your relationships due to speaking your truth 

-feeling at home with the people you choose to surround yourself with 

-feeling safe to set healthy boundaries 

H – Health 

When you are living in your truth, your health can be positively impacted in many ways, some of which include: 

-decreasing stress 

-developing mental clarity and deep self-understanding  

-increasing your sleep – when you’re in alignment with yourself, you rest easier. 

-developing healthy coping mechanisms by feeling settled within yourself and not feeling the need to escape or fill a void 

-decreased risk of chronic disease and increased immunity 

i – i am deserving 

When you are living in your truth, your sense of self-worth can be positively impacted in many ways, some of which include: 

-increasing self-confidence 

-a decreased need to compare yourself to others 

-full self-acceptance 

-believing in your accomplishments and abilities 

F – Financial 

When you are living in your truth, your financial health can be positively impacted in many ways, some of which include: 

-making career choices that align with who you are – if you are in alignment with yourself and sure of your career choices, this can lead to greater job satisfaction and increased financial potential. 

-healthier spending habits – when your priorities are in alignment with your true self,  you spend less money on things you do not need 

-potential side-income opportunities – living in your truth can lead you to find your true purpose and other ways that you can make earning potential through developing your passions. 

T – Time 

When you are living in your truth, your time can be positively impacted in many ways, some of which include: 

-living in alignment with your priorities – this helps you to prioritize the things that are more meaningful to you rather than losing time on the things that don’t matter as much  

-enhanced productivity – living your truth helps you to stay motivated with the task at hand

-reduced stress, greater balance, and enhanced fulfillment – how you spend your time is directly in line with your values, and when you’re living in your truth, you spend that time wisely.  

Checking In 

So tell us – how are you, friend? 

After reading a bit about what it means to live in your truth, where do you think you stand? 

It can seem like a lot to think about, but with some self-reflection and taking the time to get curious about whether you’re living in alignment with yourself, you can open the door to a truly fulfilling life that you are more than deserving of. 

We are rooting for you.