Why Bother Removing Our Personas?

Being authentic with others begins with being authentic with ourselves. When we falsify our true identity, it becomes so habitual that eventually we end up concealing who we truly are, even to ourselves. 

But letting go of this false and familiar front might feel risky. The masks we wear around one another become our protective shields and keep our tender and vulnerable self from getting hurt. Yet in essence, masquerading only hides our original self. 

Maybe we’ve tried once or twice before to let go of our persona, but the results were not very pretty. Instead of being applauded for our truthfulness and authenticity, we were instead rejected, mocked and maybe even ostracized.  

But dropping our personas takes practice and the more we practice the more courage we gain so as to live our authentic selves. And living authentically is a much better way to live than living as a fake. 

        Courage

I once heard that courage is not the absence of fear, but feeling the fear and doing it anyway. I believe courage is a main component which allows us to live our unique and original lives. To think that a false persona can shield us from emotional bumps and bruises, broken promises, or wrecked relationships is an erroneous idea. None of us are exempt from being hurt by another.  Wearing a false persona only shuts others out and then we miss out on receiving anything  good they may have wanted to give us. Emotionally connecting with others begins with letting them see who we truly are. 

Face to face, in the absence of fabricating our identity, we become emotionally accessible, friendly, and defenseless. Yet this does not guarantee that others will be as honest and real as we are.  Though I may be willing to drop my guard, they may be unwilling or unable to do the same. But when I speak and live in an unguarded manner, others may be inspired to be who they are as well.  

Why bother removing our personas?  It is worth it to be our true and original selves since there is only one original of us.