Living authentically sounds good - but it's not as easy as you might think. There are so many pressures in life, in our culture or family systems that push us to fulfill dreams or aspirations that are not truly authentic with who we are as a person. On this episode of Happy Black Woman, Rosetta dives into the reason being authentic is so important and what you can do to identify whether or not you're living authentically. But more importantly, she covers what to do if you discover you are not.

If you focus on living authentically, you will live a good life.

When Rosetta was traveling to the Happy Black Woman event recently she was listening to one of her favorite podcasts on the plane - The Good Life Project. The guest on that episode was Mark Nepo, author of one of Rosetta's favorite books, "The Book of Awakening." He said that if you concentrate on living a good life, you'll probably miss it. But if you concentrate on living an authentic life, you'll live a good life by default. Rosetta saw so much wisdom in that statement and decided it was time for a reminder for all her Happy Black Woman tribe about living authentically. That's what you'll hear on this episode, so be sure you listen.

It's easy to do what sounds right but isn't authentic to who you are.

When Rosetta was entering college her family had all kinds of expectations of her. She followed the path that was laid out for her for quite a while, but something didn't feel right. It didn't resonate with who she really wanted to be and what she wanted her life to be like. That's when she decided that she was going to make a switch and the rest is history. On this episode, Rosetta describes the things she noticed that told her she wasn't living authentically and gives you some very specific tips for discovering whether or not you are living in an authentic way. Ready? Listen to this episode to learn it all.

You can never be a pretend person. You have to be who you are.

None of us can keep up the facade of living a "fake" life. You know what we're talking about - the life you think everyone else wants you to live instead of the life you really know you should be living. You can do it for a while - and maybe do well at it. But in time you're going to burn out, lose your motivation, and find yourself very frustrated and unfulfilled. It's time to stop. It's time to discover what an authentic life looks like for you. Rosetta's got some great tips for you on this episode, so be sure you listen.

The longer you are on the wrong road, the longer it will take you to get back on track.

When will you decide to stop pursuing dreams that were given to you by somebody else? When will you stop trying to live up to someone else's expectations? The longer you are on that road, the longer it's going to take you to get back to where you are supposed to be - the place you long to be. Find out how you can identify the right path for you and get yourself started on it - living an authentic life - by listening to this episode.

Outline of this great episode

• [0:29] Rosetta's introduction to this episode on authenticity (a Facebook Live episode).
• [1:19] Why Rosetta became interested in this issue of authenticity.
• [3:25] Rosetta's journey to learning that she need to live authentically.
• [8:30] How you can know that you're not living an authentic life.
• [11:03] You can never be a "pretend" person. You have to be who you are.

Resources & Links mentioned in this episode

• www.HappyBlackWoman.com/SummerCamp - join us for the summer camp!
• The Good LIfe Project Podcast
• BOOK: The Book of Awakening