It's been said that the most powerful tool for physical health is a fork (or spoon), since the choices you make with it determine the good or bad things you put into your body. Where in your life are you not speaking your truth, and what are you willing to do about that? Share your thoughts, action ideas, insights, and more on my blog below. When Georgina Miranda was diagnosed with severe asthma, she realized how working with mindfulness could help her find the courage not only to summit mountains, but also to slow down and embrace taking things one breath at a time.

Speaking the truth is rewarding. Speaking only the truth opens up new paths in life, relationships and even careers. While difficult, focusing on being 100% honest is a characteristic that should be strived for every day. People who speaks the truths have more to offer than people who lie. Here are 13 reasons why you should always speak the truth. 1. It opens your heart The easy option in this world is to join in with the gossip, scandal, moaning and negativity, but the people who say what everyone else is thinking and cut through the noise in a direct but mindful way are the people that everyone listens to, that everyone respects, and are the shape-shifters for how we can develop our connection with each other in an ever-changing technological world. Our opinions are filled with righteous judgment and an arrogant sense that we’re “right,” and those who disagree with us are “wrong.” I have written five books about the importance of trust, authenticity, appreciation, and more. In addition, I deliver keynotes and seminars (both in-person and virtually) to empower people, leaders, and teams to grow, connect, and perform their best. Finally, as an expert in teamwork, leadership, and emotional intelligence, I teach techniques that allow people and organizations to be more authentic and effective. Find out more about how I can help you and your team achieve your goals today. You can also listen to my podcast here. I think of authentic communication as sharing the unfiltered essence of ourselves with others, including our identities, feelings, needs, boundaries, and desires.

She told the story of Recy Taylor, “a young wife and mother walking home from a church service she’d attended in Abbeville, Alabama, when she was abducted by six armed white men, raped, and left blindfolded by the side of the road.”

This also flies in the face of decades of psychology and social science that proves there are objectively better and worse ways for we as individuals and society as a whole to act and behave. TED talks are based on the notion that we should understand causes of problems and then can make changes and know they will work The following are five reflections that might inspire you to practice speaking your truth. You Are Not Responsible for Other People’s Feelings Share “Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.” ~ Barbara De Angelis When dealing with truths, a lot of people will feel butterflies inside their stomach when they present a lie. Remember the last time you lied to someone’s face? What did you feel? Was the pit of your stomach twisting, was your chest right? Did you walk around with fear hoping they would not find out you lied? Being honest sheds all of these issues. The more you are honest, the more fear will not reside in you. 3. You will become more authentic to the people around you

Because one way we can make sure we’re only saying what we need to say is by being quiet more often. The most courageous thing we’ll ever do in our lives is be our true self, and live our full authentic expression. The Oprah Winfrey Show made viewers feel that they constantly had to “sculpt their best lives,” Dr. Lofton writes. Yet in her religious exuberance Ms. Winfrey gave people some badly broken tools. Ms. Winfrey nodded along to the psychics and healers and intuitives. She rarely asked tough questions, and because she believed, millions of others did, too. De-Valuing Your Ideas and Opinions: It is natural to de-value your ideas and opinions if they are not heard and valued when you are young. You learned to question their worth, and now in adulthood you continue to question them and struggle to share them with others. Tell your friends you haven’t seen the most recent episode of Game of Thrones. Liberate yourself from the impossible responsibility of being all-knowing. 5. When someone asks your preference on a simple matter, tell them the truth.

I warn every new friend that I am pop-culture illiterate. If you name a TV series, movie, actor, actress, or rising pop star, the odds are I have no idea who she/he/they are. (I’m pleased to report that last week, I watched The Godfather, and on my list for next week is Breaking Bad. I’m making progress in this department.) And I just hope—I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth, like the truth of so many other women who were tormented in those years, and even now tormented, goes marching on. It was somewhere in Rosa Parks’s heart almost 11 years later, when she made the decision to stay seated on that bus in Montgomery, and it's here with every woman who chooses to say, “Me too.” And every man—every man who chooses to listen. Determine Your Learning: Learning is how we move from our reactive role and victimhood into conscious action, growth and personal responsibility. Perhaps your learning lies in listening to your intuition, creating boundaries around your time, saying, “I can’t do it for you”, valuing your ideas, or asserting yourself. That is where your learning lies, or where you need to grow as a person. It is your edge, and it is where courage is needed.If you’ve spent a lifetime pretending and hiding, it can feel really awkward and messy when you start to speak your truth. It’s still worth it.