5 Ways to Help You Discover your Authentic Voice

“Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold — but so does a hard-boiled egg!” — Anonymous

If we want to be successful we are often told by various resources that we need to use our 'authentic voice' to stand out. What if we don’t know exactly what our authentic voice is? It’s time to set up a meeting with ourselves...

1. What do you value most?

To understand what your authentic voice is about, you need to know what you value most in life. Write a list of the 10 things that are important to you. Next, highlight the 5 things you feel most connected to from the list you have just written. What if you had 24 hours or fewer to live? Out of the highlighted values what 3 jump out to you. Is it family, growth, or learning? Congratulations you have now found your values.

2. Develop your self-awareness of the actions you take

You may indeed love your friends, but do your actions show this? Sometimes what we perceive our actions to be may not be in line with what we are really doing. One way around this is to do a 360-degree survey with our friends and family, Ask just 3 questions.

What do I do?

What do I need to do less of?

What can I do more of?

I recommend asking several people than looking for patterns, i.e. 3 or more of the same answers. When you find these patterns you will have a better idea of how people really view you. Reflect on these findings, but do not overthink them.

3. What are your actions?

People will judge you by your actions so call yourself a writer but write little and inconsistently? Maybe it’s time to earn that title and put in the work. I recently took part in a 30-day writing challenge to hold myself accountable for consistency… it worked! I now write between 20 and 30 articles a month. You can set your goal at what works for you, but the importance is if you want to be taken seriously as a writer, then write. Ironically, our actions speak louder than our written words. By writing more, we also improve our ability. Malcolm Gladwell, (2008) argued that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a master at something.

4. Don’t be afraid to be different

The writers that stand out are the ones that dare to be different. Write about what matters most to you (your values) and don’t be afraid to do this in your own unique style.

“The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before.” – Albert Einstein

5. Become more mindful

Practice 10 minutes of daily mindfulness. Sit in a comfortable position and be silent for at least 10 minutes and just observe your thoughts without judgment. How will this help me find my authentic voice, you may ask? We check in with others, but how often do we check in with ourselves. Our emotions can drive our writing experience and even help us write with our authentic voice.

Conclusion: Have I found my authentic voice?

By looking at your values, the actions you take, daring to be different, and becoming more mindful, you will better connect with yourself and create your unique narrative. If you are still struggling, please don’t panic you may need to dig a little deeper or practice a little harder.

You will get there! Sometimes it’s our own negative thoughts that can hold us back from speaking authentically. Good luck.

© Trisha Dunbar

*This story was originally published on Medium, 2021.