The ‘personality’ we show the world is not the real us. It is a constructed facade that we create to fit into and conform to parental and cultural expectations and demands.
This creates a challenge when we desire to discover and express who we really are. The outside world knows us as something different and may reject us or seek to place us back in the familiar role they believe we occupy.
The truth is most of us don’t know who we really are. We are pretending, hence the prevalence of imposter syndrome. We are waiting to be ‘found out’.
Our true self is very different to the masks we wear. We often have many facets of our false self which we wear with different people and places in our life. One for work, one for our family of origin, another with our partner etc, the list goes on. The differences can be subtle or extreme.
One of our biggest fears is being our true self. The gentle, inspired and loving child that underlies it all. We are terrified that if we show the world who we truly are we will be rejected. The worst part is that we will be rejected for who we really are. For many this feels akin to death, and is one reason we create a fake persona to begin with – because our early environment DID reject our true nature.
So when you show this trick to the world don’t be surprised when they fall for it.
There will be resistance when you decide to change and express the real you. It might feel painful and vulnerable at times.
Yet my feeling is that it’s better to be rejected for who you truly are that be loved for who you are not.
Remember,
Breathe the change you wish to see in the world.
Philippa xo
P.S. If you’d love to re-establish the connection to your true self, I’d love to invite you to the next retreat day on Saturday 23rd April – details here.