Be Your Authentic Self – No Excuses, Apologies or Regrets

In a world where there is so much pressure to achieve academically and professionally, be in great shape, look youthful, be the best spouse/significant other, be a perfect parent and raise perfect kids, cook amazing meals every day of the week, have a beautiful and spotless home and post pictures of your exotic vacations on Instagram, it’s no wonder why we can often feel less than up to par. However, today I want to encourage you to let go of those expectations, comparisons and insecurities and simply be your authentic self – no excuses, apologies or regrets.

I know this is easier said than done and we all have our fears. Therefore, in an effort to truly be authentic, I’ll share with you all some of my insecurities I’ve had during various stages of my life. I’m very small and just under five feet tall and always wanted to be taller. I grew up in the Midwest, where I was one of a few minorities and the only Indian-American in my school (aside from my brother) and wanted to be more similar to my peers. I did well in school overall, but math never came naturally for me and I often got frustrated as I worked so hard to understand complex formulas and equations. When I was a little girl, I was chubby (as you can see in this blog photo) and would get embarrassed when my relatives squeezed my chubby cheeks so hard every time they saw me. I can be really sensitive and get in my head, over-analyze and worry about things in life. When I became a teenager, my hair became naturally curly and frizzy and I’ve always wished it was straight again. And the list goes on and on…

While always a work in progress, I’ve learned to embrace or find solutions to many of these insecurities of mine and be comfortable in my own skin. I’ve learned to enjoy being petite and not let it define me or what I can achieve in life. And thankfully my husband, who is over six feet tall, has always liked petite girls and thinks it’s cute. 🙂 I also love wearing high heels, which always gives me a little boost! I now cherish being Indian-American and realize my friends in school always liked me for me and appreciated that I was unique. I’m lucky to now live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is very diverse and has resulted in me having friends from all over the world, including India as well. While I still don’t love math and it does come back to haunt me when I have to help my kids with their homework, I’m thankful for my math wizard husband, Excel and my online calculator on my phone. And despite my lack of aptitude for math, I’ve been able to obtain bachelor’s and master’s degrees and enjoy a successful career in the areas in which I have strengths – marketing, advertising, business development, sales, writing, speaking and teaching. Due to my lifelong passion for health, wellness and fitness, I was able to grow out of my chubby girl days and stay in shape and be healthy throughout my teenage and adult life. I’ve learned to recognize when I’m being sensitive or in my head and now know how to shift my focus and state of mind (meditation helps me with this as well). As for my hair? All I can say is thank goodness for Halo Blow Dry Bar and ORIBE deep conditioning hair masks! 😉

Now that I’ve shared some of my insecurities and how I’ve dealt with them over the years, I hope you guys can relate, not feel alone and feel comfortable in your own skin as well. As a final thought, I think it’s important to go back to the true essence of yourself when you were a little kid. What were your talents, strengths and interests then? What were your weaknesses? What was your personality like? Do you see any similarities or differences with yourself now? While we all have the capacity to make changes throughout life, embracing all aspects of what we were born with, including our strengths and weaknesses and who we really are, will allow each of us to feel whole and can open the door to truly being authentic.

That’s it for today, Passion Fit Crew. You’re loved for exactly who you are, so let go of comparisons and expectations, acknowledge and share your own insecurities, connect with your true self from childhood into adulthood and be your authentic self – no excuses, apologies or regrets!

XOXO,
Reena