Perfectly Yourself: 9 Lessons for Enduring Happiness by Matthew Kelly

Author:Matthew Kelly [Kelly, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2008-02-26T05:00:00+00:00

THE VOICE OF THE AUTHENTIC SELF

It would seem, then, that the great challenge is to work out what we believe. This is surprisingly easy. When it comes to everyday dilemmas, we all have a guide that is never wrong and often ignored. The voice of the authentic self calls to us ceaselessly from within. Traditionally it has been called the voice of conscience, but regardless of what name we give it, we all have this quiet, gentle voice within us, and it is our truest guide.

We are constantly overwhelmed by voices—the voices of parents, of friends, teachers, mentors, coaches, siblings, employers, experts, celebrities, politicians, preachers, advisors, consultants. All these voices make it very easy to drown out the quiet voice within. But this voice within is the voice of your authentic self. This is the-best-version-of-yourself talking to you. This is the voice of integrity, the voice of character, the voice of virtue. This is quite possibly the only voice in your life that has no agenda other than seeing you become perfectly yourself.

Identifying a set of core beliefs and developing a personal mission statement are powerful and useful exercises, but it is the voice within more than anything or anyone else that will help you to discover what you believe. Not all at once, though we wish it could be so, but step by step along the way. If you learn to listen to the gentle voice within you, it will grow stronger and stronger, and if you live by what you hear, that voice will grow clearer and clearer with every passing day.

Just because you are lost, doesn’t mean your compass is broken. The voice of the authentic self will help you to heal the wounds created by living a divided life, by counseling you moment by moment, one situation at a time, to act in accord with what is good, true, noble, and beautiful. And by bringing your actions back into agreement with your beliefs, you will begin to create a new harmony in your life.

The second lesson for enduring happiness was “Just do the next right thing.” How do we know what the next right thing to do is? By listening to the voice of our authentic self, the gentle but persistent voice within. The third lesson for enduring happiness was “Put character first.” How do we put character first? By aligning our actions with the convictions of our hearts. It is this union between belief and action that brings about a life of integrity.

We often make light of the cliché “listen to your heart” as being overly sentimental or cheesy. This is in part due to the fact that the theme has been played upon so long and so often. But in most clichés there is a nugget of unchanging and universal truth. We would do well to overcome our bias toward this cliché and take the counsel of our hearts more seriously.

Every year thousands of people seek my counsel on issues ranging from relationships to business to politics, and from raising children to chasing down personal dreams.

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