I have failed at a lot of New Year’s resolutions.

And not due to a lack of a commendable effort. For a while, I was into creating quadrant and Venn diagrams to accurately depict my lofty (physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual) goals.  Some years my circles were so chockfull of aspirations, that I could barely read them.

Shocking I know, but by the time January rolled around, I was typically pretty anxious about how I was going to make all these life-altering goals happen. The problem wasn’t just the quantity of action required or my lack of time though.

The core issue was that my truest ambitions were weighed down; What deep down mattered to me was made overly complicated by other goals that didn’t reflect who I really was.   These other ambitions were meant to bring external approval and prestige, financial success, an impressive position…fitting in or being liked or respected by others, etc…

And that’s just the beginning of what might steal us away from being who we really are.   Maybe you can be true to yourself, but only part of the time…certainly not at the office or at your child’s school.  It might be that you simply ignore who you really are in subtle ways, by not taking a stand on a topic that is important to you.  Maybe you fear that it is “too late”.  Or it might feel like it is “too early” and you will get to it after reaching a certain level of worldly-sanctioned success or financial security.  Perhaps it’s not practical.  Maybe the risk of being not good enough (or too good) is just too great…or the desire to fit in too strong.

And some have wondered to themselves one too many times, “What will they think?”  Until the question is automatically played out in action and who you really are begins to get truly lost.

At points in my life, I just dabbled in being who I really am.  Fortunately, I eventually jumped in wholeheartedly.  And I can tell you from first-hand experience, you can create an extraordinary life of meaning and purpose with this one simple resolution.

Commit to it right now.  It’s time.  This is your life and it’s your year. Don’t make your resolutions overly complicated and weighty with multiple agendas.  Be who you really are.

If you don’t, who will? There is not another single soul on this planet that can be you.  I mean that quite literally – not one single soul exists that can express you!

So what do you think?  If you want to make 2013 the year devoted to being who you really are and focusing on what deep-down matters to you, I’d be honored to have you Subscribe to receive our regular updates via email to get started. You can also follow me on twitter.

———-

If you want a list of simple ways to be who you really are, check out the article I wrote for Tiny Buddha 10 Ways to Be Who You Really Are.  It’s what inspired this blog.

You can reach me at paula@whatsyourbrave.com  or follow me on twitter.

And for parents What’s Your Brave? is a writing and media project dedicated to giving parents knowledge and resources to raise daughters who live their one beautiful life courageously.