Unwrapping Authenticity: Why Being Your True Self Is the Ultimate Gift
Let’s unpack this topic with the intent of bringing you closer to understanding—inner‑standing—your true self.
Let’s Unpack What’s Truly Behind Gift-Giving
Who doesn’t love opening gifts? The anticipation, the rustle of paper, that joyful unknowing that feels like magic in your hands. Giving can feel just as beautiful—the smile on someone’s face, the sense that you’ve offered them something they couldn’t or wouldn’t give themselves.
But beneath the wrapping paper, there’s always something deeper happening.
We’re officially in the thick of gift‑giving season. The sales, the countdowns, the pressure to show up with the “right” thing can feel overwhelming. Many people go deeper into debt just to meet expectations—family, culture, or the quiet ache of their own unmet needs. Is it really about the gift, or about trying to fill something inside?
I’m not against gift‑giving. I’m all for it. But when it’s an unconscious habit, it rarely delivers what we’re truly craving: inner joy, meaning, and connection.
Maybe it’s time to gently step away from the “Black Friday” buzz and the over‑stuffed carts, and become intentional givers. Intentionality always begins with a question: Why am I giving what I’m giving? Am I trying to prove something? Avoid something? Or am I unconsciously giving others what I secretly need for myself?
Gift Giving is a Mirror of Unwrapping Your Authenticity
Embarking on the grand adventure to the true self is a lot like receiving a gift. There’s anticipation, excitement, and a whole lot of unknowing. When we’re in harmony with our fearless, spirit‑led selves, this unveiling can be bathed in love and grace.
But for many of us—myself very much included—fear slips in through the back door. Anticipation gets tangled with what‑ifs and self‑doubt. The unknown becomes something to manage instead of something to explore.
Most of us were never taught to trust our inner guidance. From a young age, we’re met with: “Be careful.” “Don’t do that.” “No more questions.” Some of this is protection, yes—but often it becomes a subtle, lifelong message: you can’t trust yourself, you can’t trust your desires, you can’t trust your knowing.
Lessons from my own “life tsunami” taught me this: when you truly know yourself, trust yourself, and rely on yourself, you reconnect to the beautiful spirit mind within. Life doesn’t suddenly become perfect, but it you become more at peace with things. You begin living soulfully, not just materialistically. You see your days through a different lens—a lifestyle guided by spiritual personality typing, where your unique pattern is honored, not hidden.
The Gift of Being Fully Yourself
In a recent post, I explored why the best gift you can give is the gift of yourself. Not a polished persona, not the “you” that keeps everyone else comfortable—but your actual, living, breathing, quirky, luminous self.
Your presence is a rare and powerful gift. Think of the teacher who really saw you and spoke words that changed everything. The parent or mentor whose simple “I believe in you” planted seeds you’re still sowing today. These truths weren’t wrapped in fancy paper, but their impact was unforgettable.
What we often forget is that we are all that kind of person for someone. You are a beautiful soul here to share your purpose, big or small. Size doesn’t matter. Impact does. When you withhold your true self—out of fear, perfectionism, or people‑pleasing—you leave a gap in the tapestry of the collective. The wisdom you’re here to offer goes missing.
The gift of authenticity is not just for you; it’s for all of us. Just know, your impact and influence are part of Divine’s grand plan. Without you, others are without the wisdom you are here to share.
Is Material Gift Giving Fleeting?
Most of us can agree: material gifts are lovely, but their glow is often fleeting. I’m speaking more about receiving here than giving. The excitement is real, but it’s usually a temporary high, not a deep, lasting peace.
The kind of joy that lingers lives somewhere else.
I’ve noticed that when I stay intentional about being true to myself— I’m still working on this one. Intentions bring a different quality to life experiences. Peace, slowing down, and flow show-up more often. Life feels more aligned, even when circumstances are imperfect. This doesn’t come from another item in the cart; it comes from being in integrity with who I really am.
Only You Can Define What Being Authentic Means to You
No one but you can define what it means to be authentic.
Authenticity is soul-led sacred, self identity only you can unwrap. I would never presume to tell you exactly what it looks like in your life. But I can say this: authenticity is being able to be your true self—no matter the situation, relationship, or room you’re in. It’s you, fully and unapologetically you.
For me, and the reason I wrote my debut book, Unpack Your Personality: Let Your Inner Guide Be Your Travel Guide, authenticity means embracing the spirit mind—your higher soul, that sacred-self identity that’s tethered to Divine Intelligence. I’ve learned that your spirit mind is meant to be your guiding light. When it leads, life begins to feel more like a partnership with the Divine than a performance for the world.
Your Spiritual Personality: A Sacred Tool
When you begin to realize that your nonphysical self—your spirit mind—has a major role to play here on Earth, you also begin to see your personality type as sacred. I refer to this phenomenon as the soul’s role in personality typing.
Your personality isn’t a random bundle of traits; it’s the tool your spirit mind uses to express itself through your personality into your reality. Each personality pattern has unique cognitive tendencies: how you decide, how you show up, how you perceive, what you naturally pay attention to. These aren’t just quirks—they are keys to your foundational self.
Of course, you are more than a personality. Culture, childhood, trauma, societal expectations—all of these shape you. But at the center of it all is your eternal soul self, your spirit mind, here to evolve through every experience. Divine Intelligence experiencing itself through you!
When you understand your spiritual personality pattern, authenticity stops being a vague ideal and becomes something very specific: living in alignment with how your soul actually chose to be here.
Journal Prompt: What Are You Really Giving?
Here’s a gentle place to begin.
Journal Prompt: Where in my life am I giving from obligation, image, or habit—and where am I giving from my true self? What does my soul quietly crave to give and receive instead?
Let yourself write without editing. Notice where you feel relief, sadness, resistance, or excitement. Those sensations are clues. They often reveal where you’ve been living from a script that isn’t yours—and where your authentic self is asking for more room.
Living as the Ultimate Gift
I hope you can begin to see why being true to yourself is the ultimate gift—for you, for your loved ones, and for every life you touch.
When you live authentically:
Your life feels more in flow.
What you need finds you more easily.
You attract people and opportunities that resonate with your true pattern.
You experience a deeper sense of meaning, even in hard seasons.
I believe that when you align with your true self—your spirit mind—the inner light within you comes alive and starts to lead. It will always guide you toward your best outcomes, using inspired action rather than ego, conditioning, or fear.
A Soft Invitation
If this is stirring something in you—if you’re realizing you’ve been gifting everyone but yourself your own authenticity—there are gentle ways to keep going:
Start with this week’s journal prompt and see what surfaces.
Revisit how you give (and receive) during this season with more intention.
Explore your spiritual personality pattern so you can understand how your soul chose to move through the world.
When you feel ready for deeper support, you’re invited into my world of 1:1 clarity work, mentoring, and walk‑n‑wonder sessions—spaces designed to help you live as the gift you truly are.
You are not here to be the wrapping paper. You are the gift. And the more you allow your true self to be seen, the more you bless every life you brush up against.
P.S. A Note on Support
This work is offered freely and without ads so it can remain clear, spacious, and undiluted.
If this chapter supported you—and you’d like to help sustain this work—you can do so here:
Your support allows me to continue creating soul-led resources like this.
Who Is Nina Zapala?
I’ve navigated my own midlife tsunami — that overwhelming season when everything you thought defined you starts to wash away, and the world seems to look right past you. But I’ve learned that midlife doesn’t have to mean invisibility, fighting to stay relevant, or feeling marginalized. I created a new way through this powerful chapter with a sacred self-identity paradigm called Spiritual Personality Typing℠ — a framework I developed to make sense of my own tsunami that has brought me more joy, soulful self-discovery, and intentional living. Now, I help women design lives that are entirely their own — untethered from society’s expectations and rich with new beginnings, confidence, and freedom.
updated 12.2025
