Welcome to Week 10 of the Authenticity@Work Leadership Tool-kit! My intention for this series is to share a quick tool each week to help you lead with more authenticity, adaptability and inspiration so we can together create workplaces where we bring the best of ourselves and inspire others. So grab a journal and an accountability partner to make these practices even more powerful for you!
In last week’s post we discussed an overview of the 7 practices of authenticity. Did you take the authenticity assessment to see where your focus areas should be as you work through the seven practices?
You’re probably thinking, What’s my body got to do with my being authentic?
When’s the last time you took time to connect with what is going on in your body or to feel gratitude for the miracle of your body? Our bodies are our best friends. They keep us alive. They heal when we cut or scrape them. They give us a full experience of life through all our senses. And if we are willing to slow down and listen, they have much wisdom to whisper to us about our authenticity, happiness, and fulfillment.
The first step to using your body for authenticity is to lose your mind and come to your senses. This brings you in the present moment. How often do you pay attention to savoring the taste of the food you’re eating, feel your favorite piece of music wash over you, or fully experience being with the person you’re talking to without your inner dialogue? How often do you make any experience a whole-body experience?
Usually, our minds are a running tape that keeps us running. Listening to my body is something I have to consciously practice. I have to consciously keep coming back to immersing myself in this moment versus letting my mind interpret that moment through its web of judgments of what’s good or bad.
This Week’s Tool:
Wake up and smell the coffee. Yes, I mean literally. Smell the aroma. Be fully present to how it tastes and feels going down. Fully experience each sense in the body. Pay attention to the taste of what you’re eating, the smell of a flower, what it feels like to touch the bark of a tree or feel the sand or grass under your toes. Put a reminder on your calendar to experience your senses five times a day for twenty-one days. It can be as simple as fully feeling the support of a chair as you sit in it or your breath as it enters through your nose. For that moment, when you are fully present, feel how time expands.
Get the latest resources for Authenticity@Work (this tab will get updated with all kinds of cool resources). Curious to know more about the book? Read the reviews about Wired for Authenticity here.
