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We all wear so many masks. We wear them to fit a role: mother, sister, wife, good worker. We wear them to protect us in social situations: good girl, bad girl, tough girl, sweet girl.
This has been a theme that’s risen with the women I’ve been working with lately. A realization that in wearing masks, they have been holding back pieces of themselves in all their relationships without realizing it.
Hiding their personal quirks or interests from friends and partners. Censoring their lives’ high and low moments, following trends vs sharing or following their passions.
When we boiled things down, we were able to see where the root of the problem was; a fear of rejection.
It’s hard to take off your mask when you’ve been wearing it for so long. There is a fear that when you reveal your true self behind the mask, the people in your life, even those who love you the most, might not accept you for who you are. It’s no wonder so many of us lose our sense of self, and for some the reason we don’t know who we are is because we’re not being ourselves.
So how can you start to shift into your unique self and show it off to the world?
If you have been hiding for a while, start small. It can be overwhelming when you want to start making changes, so be compassionate with yourself during this process.
Build awareness! It all starts with mindset. Start by taking note without judgment of the pieces you are hiding.
Ask yourself what you enjoy doing and invite people (when you can) to join in
Practice is everything! The more you practice being you the more comfortable you will get with yourself.
Let the little girl inside come out to play. She will be able to show the women how to be carefree.
Being authentically yourself can be hard. But the alternative, living a life wearing different masks, seems to be much harder to carry.
Let the mask down, you may be pleasantly surprised with what is waiting for you.