Principles
These are not rules. They are not instructions. They are not meant to be copied or followed.
They are the orientation I return to when life becomes unclear — a way of standing that values steadiness, honesty, and self-respect over performance, optimisation, or certainty.
Taken together, they’re my working definition of what authenticity looks like in real life.
If something here resonates, let it prompt reflection. If it doesn’t, leave it.
1. What I Mean by Authenticity
Living authentically, as I understand it, isn’t about being raw, dramatic, or endlessly expressive. It’s about staying in honest relationship with yourself — including your limits, needs, values, and nervous system — and letting your choices reflect that relationship over time.
2. Self-Trust & Inner Authority
Learning to trust your own perception, evaluation, and timing — without outsourcing worth, clarity, or direction to other people.
3. Boundaries, Responsibility & Integrity
Holding boundaries without hardening, taking responsibility without self-blame, and carrying influence or power without losing yourself.
4. Emotion & Regulation
Learning to feel deeply without collapsing, to recover from shame without disappearing, and to repair relationships without self-destruction.
5. Uncertainty, Limits & Reality
Accepting that not everything will resolve cleanly, that life includes limits and loss, and that some chapters will never make full sense.
6. Connection Without Self-Erasure
Learning how to be alone without becoming isolated, how to stay open without becoming naïve, and how to walk away when staying costs self-respect.
These principles are not a destination.
They are a way of staying oriented when certainty falls away, when roles dissolve, and when the temptation to abandon yourself is strongest.
Adulthood, as I understand it, is not about having answers — but about remaining grounded, honest, and intact while living inside the questions.