How much of your life do you feel like you are pretending? Since our early years, we have been schooled, trained and handed over a set of beliefs from everyone around us. We are told what is appropriate, who and how we should be behave and what to believe. Education drills and dictates knowledge and society frowns on being different or controversial. But do ever wonder who you really are?
Identities are formed at an early age. A child learns very young how to perform to get the love and attention they desire. Some children give up on themselves, believing a judgment by a teacher or a parent or some other voice of authority that they are in some way inadequate and flawed. So the inner-child believes this and learns how to fake it. People are pretending every day. We often do not even tell our close friends the truth, in fear that they will not like us anymore. We allow people to manipulate us and don’t call them on it and then we feel like a victim.
All this pretending reminds me of the fairy tale of the Emperor’s new clothes. The king was totally naked, yet everybody – starting with the tailor – lied to him until a young child in the crowd pointed out the king’s nakedness. A few questions to ask yourself:
· Are you willing to be naked to the whole world and have the courage to discover the real you?
· Are you willing to believe something different than everyone else around you?
· Are you willing to stop pretending and allow the real you to shine through?
I challenge you to become authentic and stop pretending. Take the time every day to reflect on your words and actions to insure that you are being truthful & genuine. Work hard to give up the need for approval from the outside; be patient, it will happen over time with commitment and focus. The moment you allow this freedom to occur, it opens up the gates of happiness. A big relief will come over you and your true friends will emerge. You will begin to really like yourself!
No more pretending. I triple dog dare you!
