Behavior Specialist Gianna Biscontini Reveals How To Live An Authentic Life - Exclusive
Even though Gianna Biscontini is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, she wasn't always great at identifying the narratives and patterns that shaped her behavior. In 2019, she was in an unhappy marriage and trying to recover after the dissolution of a painful business partnership.
Believe it or not, Biscontini's turning point came from the Women's Soccer World Cup in 2019. When she saw the U.S. women's team boisterously celebrating their win and standing in their power, Biscontini realized that she'd been fundamentally changing herself and her life to please others. She finally understood that she hadn't been living authentically.
This epiphany launched Biscontini on a journey to uncover all of the messages and core beliefs that drove her behavior. After several "very Brené Brown-esque mini breakdowns," in her own words, Biscontini was left with a clear picture of why she did the things she did, who she wanted to be, and what she needed to do to get there.
In an exclusive interview with Health Digest, Biscontini explained how she discovered her authentic life, the practices that keep her aligned with her values, and her upcoming book, which reveals her secrets for uncovering your own authenticity.
Why women may have a harder time living authentically
Biscontini explained that we're socialized to believe many things about what our lives should look like and what we should be doing. When we let these messages drive our actions, even if they don't feel right to us, we lose our ability to live authentically. To get back to an authentic life, we need to live "from the inside out," letting our actions be driven by our internal sense of what's right for us rather than anyone else's expectations.
Biscontini pointed out that women are socialized to care more about what other people think, so it's often hard for them to put their own true desires first. This issue, and Biscontini's solution, is at the center of her forthcoming book, "F**kless: The Guide to Wild, Unencumbered Freedom." It introduces women to the work Biscontini did to identify the external narratives controlling her life and shows them how to break out of the boxes society tries to put them in. Biscontini hopes that the book will help other women understand that they can build the life they want from the ground up.
Practices for living authentically
Biscontini revealed that she has a few regular practices that help her tap into her own true wants and needs. The most important of those practices is consistent meditation. "It allows me to notice what I'm doing in the moment and stop and make a better choice that serves me or my clients or my company," Biscontini explained. "It's more value-aligned. It serves my goals. It's allowed me to be very aware when I am acting inauthentically."
The practices Biscontini engages in to maintain her physical and mental health also help her go within. She stressed that the parameters for physical and mental health differ for each person, so part of living authentically is discovering what your body needs in terms of diet and exercise. For Biscontini, this looks like not drinking alcohol very often, drinking lots of water, and eating what makes her body feel good when she feels hungry.
When she engages in these practices regularly, living authentically comes naturally.
For more information on Gianna Biscontini's forthcoming book, "F**kless: The Guide to Wild, Unencumbered Freedom," please visit https://giannabiscontini.com/book.