During a recent family vacation, I made a choice.Woman celebrating

The rest of the family wanted to do a jeep ride, up the mountain several thousand feet and over bumpy trails. I’ve endured that jeep ride before, resulting in bruised bones and $45 less in my billfold. So I opted out.

Instead, I strolled through a little mountain town, bought myself a luscious chai tea latte, finished my Christmas shopping and read several chapters in a good book. I had a lovely time – alone – setting my boundaries and doing my own thing.

But the result of being my authentic self was a feeling of rejection when I met up with the rest of my family members. I was a little bit weird and set apart because I chose not to join them.

My authenticity resulted in rejection.

This is a common result when women begin to step into their authenticity and become vulnerable. They’re telling the truth and living in what is right for them, but others may not understand.

Some people just won’t get it. They’ll expect you to be with them, do what they want, fit in with their labels and follow the general flow of the populace.

The result of that mindset is losing your true self.

But to become your true self, you may lose a friend or face the rejection of people you love.

It takes more energy to be what others expect us to be, to do what they expect us to do. But at the end of the day, we don’t like ourselves because we’ve settled. We’ve caved.

It takes more courage to be your authentic self and make choices that empower you.

At the end of the day, you’ll be proud that you stretched yourself and kept true to your heart.

Deep down, those who once rejected you will someday respect you because you were honest and vulnerable enough to live in your truth.

So hang in there. Become an authentic woman and don’t compromise your true self just to fit into someone else’s expectations.

Don’t “should” yourself, just to make others happy or fit into their ideals.

Be who God created you to be – a strong, joyful, living-in-abundance woman.

©2015 Rebecca Thesman, CLC

Certified Life Coach and Program Director

GateWay of Hope