What Our Shoes Teach Us About Authenticity

When’s the last time you tried expressing yourself differently and it didn’t feel authentic?

When I started learning coaching skills, it felt like I was learning a new language. It was strange to listen to others on a deep, intuitive level. It felt clunky to acknowledge and validate people’s emotions. I often thought I wasn’t being authentic when I was “talking like a coach.”

But then, I started to notice something change over time. I found that the more I showed up as a coach, the deeper the connection I began having with others. The more I showed up as a coach, the greater confidence and conviction I had in myself.

And then the scale finally tipped. I found that reverting to my “pre-coaching” way of being was now unaligned with the truth of who I am. What the heck?

It turns out, there was some wisdom in this shift I experienced. I learned that just because something doesn’t feel authentic doesn’t mean it isn’t authentic. Feelings are not facts.

It’s like when you would outgrow a pair of shoes every few years as a child. Did you try to keep wearing the same old shoes because they used to fit? No. You got a new pair of shoes that fit, and those new shoes felt weird at first. THAT’S NORMAL. It takes a few days to break them in.

From a consciousness standpoint, the same rules apply. It makes sense to feel “off” at times, especially when we are stepping into a more authentic version of who we truly are, as opposed to who we think we are.

When you grow, it won’t feel authentic at first. That doesn’t mean to stop. That means you are evolving into who you were always meant to be.

Most people don’t change their figurative pair of shoes. They keep on the old, small pair, even though they are ready for so much more. And the reason they do this is because, consciously or not, they let the inner critic trap them into a version of themselves that is limited, fearful and insecure.

When you grow, it won’t feel authentic at first. That doesn’t mean to stop. That means you are evolving into who you were always meant to be.

So my question to you: Is it time for a new pair of shoes?

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