be unapologetically you

ok, but how?✨

This newsletter is an invitation into self-inquiry. An offering to question your beliefs, judgments, and life choices and wake up to your truth.

Permission Slip : I give myself permission to be unapologetically me.✨

We often get messages from our culture that tell us to live our lives authentically and unapologetically, but how do we do that? What does it even mean? Let’s explore.

The word apologetic comes from the Greek apologeticus which means to be defensive and have regret. The prefix -un means not. So, unapologetic means : to live without defensiveness or regret; to open your heart and live with an undefended heart - radically authentic.

Anecdote

I was working as a Holistic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon for over twenty years when COVID hit. I had been building my Wellness Center for a few years and was actively and busily expanding my practice. My motto had always been ": Beauty Redefined, Inner and Outer Beauty and Wellness. I wanted my patients to undergo full transformational journeys of body, mind and spirit, not just have injections and liposuction. Not only was I doing their breast reduction and tummy tuck, but I gifted them Transformational Coaching which took them on a deeper dive of self-discovery. My patients began to call me their Soul Surgeon, and the name stuck. They came out of the experience with a renewed body and spirit, inner and outer beauty and wellness. What a bonus!

I come for the Botox but I stay for the therapy, my patients said.

I loved my work, but enjoyed the much needed rest that covid offered. During quarantine I spent three months at home with my five kids, reconnecting with my painting, writing poetry, and playing the guitar. I could feel my nervous system calm and settle into a version of myself that I had forgotten existed. As I returned to work I didn’t feel the same enthusiasm I had felt during the entirety of my career. Maybe I was afraid to lose myself again in the busyness. Or maybe it was time to shapeshift.

I began searching for my truth by asking the simplest, yet hardest question : what do I want?

As I went back into the operating room and spent time with my patients, this question stayed with me, what do I want? As the days and months passed, the answer came. What I want at this time in my life was to create deeper connections through the spiritual work I was doing as a Transformational Coach and Mentor. It was clear to me that I was ready to put down my scalpel. All I knew was that I no longer resonated with the version of myself that I had created. I trusted a new iteration of me would emerge. Thus began my own transformational journey from Plastic Surgeon to Soul Surgeon.

After nearly a year of contemplating, stressing, second-guessing, hesitating, and finally deciding, I bid the sterile operating rooms goodbye and closed the doors of my beloved office and Wellness Center.Releasing the career I had spent a lifetime building felt like jumping off a ledge without a parachute. There was no going back. The truth had been revealed. Was it easy? Heck, NO! Was it scary? Heck, YES! What was coming? I had no idea.

I chose authenticity over approval. I chose to open my heart to my truth.

Was there backlash and judgment? Definitely! Many of the people in my life didn’t approve of my decision to leave a career I had worked my life to build. Their lack of understanding meant they couldn’t be supportive. And that’s ok. They didn’t have to. I had over a decade of living into my spiritual path, unearthing my authentic self, and building the muscles of my intuitive voice. I had arrived into my unapologetic self, undefended heart, truth-telling life.

And now I invite you to look at your own life. To undergo your own self inquiry and check-in. Do you give yourself permission to be unapologetically you, to tell yourself your truth, and to live with an undefended heart?

Here’s a mix of soulful, playful, and profound ways to express authenticity and show up completely and unapologetically you. You can use these as your new mantras or make up your own.

I unapologetically choose to enter the spiritual path and know myself more deeply

I unapologetically talk to the universe like it’s my therapist

I unapologetically choose inner piece over outer drama

I unapologetically meditate in the middle of a chaotic day

I unapologetically choose to feel my feelings and not fake being okay

I unapologetically trust my intuition even when it doesn’t always make logical sense

I unapologetically embrace my flaws because they make me human and beautiful

I unapologetically wear crystals in my bra and call it an armor of light (*we all need to do this, ladies lol)

I unapologetically prioritize my spiritual path even if others don’t get it

I unapologetically live as my authentic self because pretending is too heavy

I unapologetically choose compassion for myself - it’s revolutionary!

I unapologetically ask deep questions because surface level doesn’t fill my soul

I unapologetically let go of people pleasing because it’s exhausting and overrated

I unapologetically say no to things that drain my energy - boundaries are magical!

Closing Thought

The freedom, love, and connection we seek starts with the courage to grant ourselves permission to simply be : Unapologetically. Perfectly imperfect. Simply Be.

Journaling contemplation

1. Where in your life are you still waiting for permission to live as your truest self?

2. What would change if you gave yourself full permission to embrace who you are, unapologetically, starting today?

3. Write your own phrase and own it : I’m unapologetically… (fill in)

   

I invite you to write your own Permission Slip : I give myself permission to…

*ps i love you❣️