Yesterday, I finished up a post on my AlignedLife blog to bring my December trip to Baltimore to a close–it closed the loop on a great trip and even greater conversation. The post highlighted a few post-chat things I wish I had said or expanded upon in the moment.

One of these I continue to think about, “the current system isn’t fair and hasn’t been fair.”

I often worry that the privileges, both real and assumed, I have been afforded in my life run counter to my belief that everyone has the opportunity and right to pursue their Authentic Life, as others see it--because my Pursuit might be perceived as more "fair" than others, individuals dismiss the possibility of living their Authentic Lives.

Regardless of the circumstances you are born into, there are a few things I know:

You were created by a Higher Power with a purpose.

You were given unique gifts and talents to share with the world.

You have internal guidance trying to help you find those gifts, talents, and purpose.

You are an important part of a much bigger picture and plan.

You have an Authentic Life waiting for you to step into.

Once we move beyond these things, we find countless factors in life make the path to the Authentic Life easier or harder for individuals–some of these are out of our control, and others are self-inflicted.

I would love for everyone to have the same ease of navigating life and living their Authentic Lives, but as we all have experienced, life isn’t always fair.

But the unfairness in life does not make it impossible to live your Authentic Life.

The unfairness might make it harder, but harder doesn't mean impossible.

It’s easy to fall back on the unfairness in life–social economics, race, gender, where you were born, etc–and allow whatever unfair obstacles you’ve been dealt to keep you from living your Authentic Life. I won’t go so far as to say those obstacles are excuses because that is empathetic, and I don’t believe they are excuses for everyone–some people are using them as excuses, but not everyone.

The good thing about obstacles is that they can be overcome–they can be conquered. When you identify an obstacle standing before you, focus on four little questions, which I learned in my EVOKE training through the Kinder Institute of Life Planning:

What can you do about the obstacle?

How will you do it?

When will you do it?

Whose help do you need to do it?

Take any unfair obstacle in front of you, and answer these questions–start small and with the quickest actions you can take. As you complete the first task, revisit the questions, continue to do so, and watch how the mountain of an obstacle begins to dwindle.

There’s always an action you can take to move past the unfairness and move closer to your Authentic Life.

Now, go back to the few things I shared that I know/believe, and if you agree, you can see how living your Authentic Life is not impossible. Fair or unfair, the hand dealt doesn’t matter to the possibility of living your Authentic Life–it is possible.

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC