Don’t pretend to be what you are not,
instead,
pretend to be who you want to be,
It is not pretence,
it is a journey to self realisation.
-Michael Bassey Johnson-
It comes as a surprise to many that other people have a different perception of us than we hold of ourselves. No two people hold the same perception of Who They Think We Are.
Our self-image governs our actions and reactions in life, in all areas of our human interactions. What we think about ourselves, the experiences we have encountered builds within us a blueprint for developing our beliefs about who and what we believe ourselves to be. In most cases it has been negative programmes we have locked onto and internalised. From these false beliefs our inner worth is slowly eroded until our inner model becomes one of lowered self worth, self esteem and value.
Zig Ziglar in this legendary book, See You At The Top, covers the issue of Low Self Esteem with insightful clarity. He explains the many ways and behaviours we create out of believing the Lies others tell us about ourselves. The self limits we develop from negative input corrupts our true worth and leads us down a path of being less than we really are, as shadow of our greater potential. Not only does he point out the traps, he provides the opportunity to change.
Susan Mitchell in her book Be Bold, The Power of Praise points out the advantages of practicing true praise and encouragement. When I first read her book I began practicing giving more compliments, to be honest it came across really tacky. Persevering, one day something changed and people began appreciating being complimented.
Honey truly does attach
better than vinegar.
When it comes to being our true selves, life becomes interesting, which ME is going to show up, what parameters are in play to trigger our different fears and limitations. When we are feeling safe and secure, we act and behave one way, when our inner demons come out play we act and behave differently. When we are out with our mates (male or female) we show aspects of ourselves we may not show when we are around people who trigger our false beliefs. We meet a new love interest, being interviewed or we are dealing with authority another ME shows up.
We are multiple personality creatures, a blend of Angel and Animal/Demon, the lower fear based being, one safely rooted in the higher aspects of Love. When we make the decision to step up to our higher potential, we confront one of our major firewalls – Unwillingness to Change or Learn. Having the courage to make different choices, to have our insecurity buttons pushed, then are forced to decide, stay the same or risk doing things differently. Fear keeps us stuck in limitations and low self value, the inner voice screams the risks of stepping out and tries hard to keep us safe. In some ancient cultures when fear was seen as a disease and those falling prey to it were forced out of the tribe. The measure was taken to protect the whole tribe.
Most of us have a varying degree of Risk Aversion, the level is one we set without realising. Those who learn to manage risk tend to achieve more in their lives. Better To Be Safe Than Sorry is the classic mindset that stops us stepping up to a more rewarding life.
When we begin to take stock of our limiting beliefs, feelings and attitudes we can address those that no longer serve us we begin to present another ME to the outer world. Some people react and move away, some try and drag us back to their perception of who and what we should be. Others embrace and encourage the change. The one’s we listen to can assist or limit our ability to step up and out of the old paradigm and embrace change and the Me we want to be.
Henry Ford’s great statement focuses on the importance of belief, especially self belief.
Whether youThink you Can
Or You Think you Can’t
You Are Correct
It is the Thinking
That Makes it So
Henry Ford
It is closer to the truth to describe ourselves as we instead of Me.Embracing all the aspects of our multi functioning personality allows us to explore a wider spectrum our human potential. To enrich our Angelic and embrace and heal our Animalistic/Demonic selves leads to a paradigm shift in the way we operate in this world, we move from the limiting Fear based reality to one where we have the ability to overcome and transmute all our challenges or at least cope in a better way.
