VIR-I-0056
“I stopped pretending I had it together and the weight lifted.”
Keeping up the front was a full-time job, and you were exhausted from it. The moment you told someone the truth, 'I'm not okay', the performance ended and air came back in. Honesty about your own state is not weakness; it's the first move out of the hole. You just put the mask down and could finally breathe.
Your Practice
- Notice how much energy the pretending was quietly costing you.
- Tell one more trusted person the true state of things, plainly.
- When the urge to perform 'fine' returns, name it and tell the truth instead.
- Let people meet the real you. The relief you feel is the proof it was right.
The Architects
“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”
Henry David Thoreau, Walden, "Conclusion" (1854)