Staying True to Yourself: My Secret Sauce for Alignment (and Sanity)

Have you ever woken up one day and wondered, “Who even is this version of me?”

I know I have.

Looking back a couple of years, I realized how many choices I made just because they were considered “cool,” or because everyone around me was doing them. The projects I said yes to, the people I tried to fit in with, even the hobbies I picked up....on the outside, it looked fine. But deep inside? I felt drained. Empty. Almost like I was living on autopilot, walking paths that were never meant for me in the first place.

That’s the thing about not staying true to yourself: it works for a while. Until it doesn’t.

I lost parts of myself because I wasn’t aligned. At the time, I blamed it on being tired, needing more vitamins, or working too hard. But truthfully, I wasn’t listening to myself. I wasn’t asking the one question that changes everything: Does this really feel like me?

Alignment starts with the questions we dare to ask ourselves.🙌🏻

Choosing What Feels True

Staying true to yourself is less about perfection and more about alignment. It’s about noticing when something lights you up versus when something slowly eats away at your energy. Just because something is popular or looks good on paper doesn’t mean it’s meant for you.

I had to learn this the hard way. Through solitude. Through sitting with myself and asking:

Does this opportunity bring me peace, joy, or even just healthy curiosity?

Does it align with my values and the version of me I’m becoming?

Or am I saying yes out of fear of missing out?

Every time I get to a new doorway...a project, a person, a chance to pivot, I pause. I ask if it aligns with my spirit. If it doesn’t, I choose JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) instead of FOMO. Sometimes even FOBI😌 Fear of Being Inauthentic.

Because what’s the point of chasing things that only drain you?

When Alignment Feels Like Home

Here’s the beautiful thing: when you begin to stay true to yourself, life naturally clears out the noise. People, passions, and opportunities that don’t fit will fall away. And in that space, what’s meant for you arrives with so much ease.

Take Mandala art, for example. When I first stumbled into it, I didn’t know what I was doing. I feared I’d mess up. Yet something about it felt like home. Drawing quieted my restless mind. It anchored me in the present moment in ways nothing else did.

Mandala: my quiet homecoming.

Later, when I asked myself if I wanted to finally share this part of me on social media, the same questions came up: Does this feel aligned? Does it feel like me? The answer was yes, yes, and yes. And so, I began sharing it. That simple yes has brought me closer to passions and people I never would have met otherwise.

That’s the magic of alignment: it feels like freedom. Especially for a wild free soul like me. And if you’re anything like me, alignment is the key, my loves.❤️

The Role of Self-Awareness

Staying true to yourself is impossible without self-awareness. When you dive deeper into who you are and what you truly need, every decision gets lighter.

Pair that with self-love, and suddenly life feels seamless.

You stop chasing what isn’t yours and start attracting what is.

The Universe has this funny way of sending the right things your way when you’re in tune with yourself. The clearer you are about what you want, the louder your energy signals to the world: This is who I am. This is what I’m here for. And guess what? The right people and opportunities respond to that frequency.

Staying True Is a Daily Practice

Staying true to yourself isn’t a one-time decision. It’s a practice. A lifestyle. A gentle check-in you do with yourself before you say yes. And when you start living this way, freedom becomes your default.

The freedom to say no.

The freedom to choose peace.

The freedom to honor curiosity.

The freedom to be who you really are, not who the world expects you to be.

And isn’t that the sweetest thing of all?

A Soft Reminder

Life is too short to keep repeating loops that don’t serve you. Too short to spend years with people or passions that never light you up. Staying true to yourself is how you protect your energy, your joy, and your spirit.

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Sylvia Plath’s fig tree theory. It’s one of those metaphors that sits heavy on your chest the moment you hear it because it feels so true. She imagined her life as a fig tree, each branch holding a different version of herself - writer, traveler, mother, lover, dreamer, creator, and so on. Each fig represented a choice, a possibility. But as she sat frozen, unable to pick, she watched the figs wither and fall, one by one, until the tree stood bare.

That metaphor keeps tugging at me, reminding me how easy it is to let life slip away if we don’t choose, or worse, if we keep choosing things that are not aligned. Because isn’t that what happens when we get caught up in fear, indecision, or trying to live someone else’s version of “cool”?

We end up paralyzed, letting the figs drop, the dreams we could have lived, the passions we could have pursued, the versions of ourselves we could have explored.

And truthfully? I want to taste as many figs as I can. I want to write, draw, learn, travel, love, create, dance, stumble, and get back up again. I want to try things even if they scare me, even if they don’t make sense to others, even if I outgrow them later. Because staying true to myself is the only way I know I’ll reach for the figs that are meant for me before they fall away.

So here’s my gentle nudge: Next time you’re at the doorway of a decision, big or small, pause and ask yourself these questions. And if you like journaling, then write it out.

Journaling my alignment.✨

For me, journaling these questions has always brought more clarity than just thinking them through:

Does this feel like me?

Would I truly want to do this?

Does it match my purpose or my source of joy?

Does it bring me peace, satisfaction, or curiosity that awakens something in me?

Does it have the potential to challenge me in ways I can grow?

Maybe it’s scary, but does it also feel exciting?

Does it align with my values?

Put them on paper. Sit with your answers. Trust them.

Because when you choose truth, you choose freedom. And when you choose freedom, you choose life itself. 💛

✨ Now I want to hear from you.

So tell me, what figs are you reaching for right now? The ones that feel true, that light you up, that align with your soul. Drop me a comment here or DM me on Instagram.

I’d love to hear which figs you’re ready to taste before they fall away.

Let’s talk about it!!!🙌🏻