Living Contrary to Your Authentic Self

A mindful companion to this worksheet

Living closer to what matters

Values are the quiet compass under the noise of daily life. “Living Contrary to Your Authentic Self” asks you to listen for what you most want your life to express, and to notice where your hours and your values have drifted apart.

How mindfulness can help

Mindfulness makes room for the stillness in which values become easier to hear. When the distraction settles, the deeper preferences of the heart get a word in. Practice helps us not only know our values but live closer to them.

Gentle steps to try

1. 1Take the long view. Picture yourself ten years from now looking back on this season. What would you hope was true about how you spent it?
2. 2Choose three words. Pick three words for what you most want to embody. Write them somewhere you will see them daily.
3. 3Check one choice. Look at one decision in front of you this week. Which option moves you toward your three words?
4. 4Forgive the gap. Notice the gap between values and behavior with curiosity, not judgment. The noticing is the practice.