Leadership Thought #236 – Drop The Mask And Be Real
Many of us walk around with a mask that we put on when things get uncomfortable.
Too often in life, we respond to situations the way we think we should, rather than expressing our true feelings. We build walls around our emotions to prevent others from seeing our vulnerabilities. It’s sad, but most of us have grown up believing that our emotional reaction to something is either good or bad, rather than part of being human. One of the ways we do this is to overcompensate with the opposite emotion, e.g., fear turns into anger, disappointment is shrouded by acting like you don’t care, etc.
Unfortunately, not being true to yourself and being inauthentic with your emotions often leads to feelings of avoidance and repression. Repressed feelings often lead to some level of unhappiness and/or dysfunctional behavior. We also typically end up with the outcomes we do not want because others misread our intentions. When we put on the mask, we hinder all conversations.
The reality is that how we feel about something is not wrong. It’s how we act on the feelings that get us in trouble. Being sad is okay. Being stuck in a rut of sadness, becoming morose, and preventing any joy from entering your life is not okay. When any emotion dominates your life and becomes a recurring theme that impacts everything, it is time to seek professional help. You can be “too much” of anything, including being too happy. No one can be positive all the time. Maintaining a consistently upbeat demeanor is too exhausting and can start to seem artificial and disingenuous.
I am a firm believer in the concept that your life is what you make of it. Good and bad things happen to everyone. What is important is that you acknowledge your emotions regardless of the situation. Don’t rush to judgment about how you feel – allow yourself to experience it. Be honest with yourself and others when this happens. This doesn’t mean you turn every encounter into an exchange of emotions; however, when it is something significant, you should be open and genuine about it. There are also many situations where you will be able to work through whatever you are going through alone if you allow yourself the emotional space for this to happen. It is a fact that the sooner you deal with anything challenging or difficult, the easier it is to overcome or experience. Drop the mask and be real.
Related articles
- PURPOSE of Emotions: Prediction (acoarecovery.wordpress.com)
- Using Mindfulness To Alter Your Mood (psychcentral.com)
- Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)
- Would You Mind Keeping Your Emotions to Yourself? (insanityofmotherhood.com)
- Emotions: The 2 Types (psychologytoday.com)
- Using Your 5 Basic Emotions for Success (greaterlifenow.wordpress.com)
- 12 Rules For Life book excerpts (capacity-building.com)
