The dirty work is lonely

We don't talk enough about how isolating the journey to your authentic self can be. I've discovered several factors that contribute to this.

You will intimidate a lot of people, your authenticity will trigger them and they will reject you through fear or jealousy.

You'll discover you don't align with a majority of people, maybe their values, moral compass, or you are on different paths altogether.

Until someone has realised their worth, their energies will hold different values. You have the awareness of how valuable your energy is, and they do not appreciate the value of your energy. This cheapens their energetic value too, until they develop an understanding of value, the value will not come.

Social media has tricked a lot of people into chasing followers, but, this is a cheap replacement for in-person and high-quality connection. Once you remove yourself from that facade, it will become more uncomfortable to give your time to others who are distracted by an artificial reality.

The other factor is, that once you start to embody your authenticity, you will not care if other people accept you or not. This makes it much easier to walk away from connections that don't serve you or leave you feeling replenished.

You may start to feel the falseness of a lot of interactions. They may feel empty or forced. I can compare it to being in a work meeting, where your coworkers are blowing smoke up each other's asses, but, you know they dislike each other in reality.

Getting to this point in your journey can feel so liberating. You are no longer caught up in seeking approval or giving yourself to situations or people that drain you. But, it can be terrifying to realise how many people are still comfortable in these curated versions of reality. Many people will talk about authenticity, without the courage to get their hands dirty. They may change their image or persona, but, the insides will remain the same. While that is ok for them, it likely will not feel ok for you.

Other people can relate to you. It may feel more challenging to find them, but, when you do find them you are finding a higher quality connection and this is a valuable reward to appreciate.