To mask or unmask… that is question🤔? The PERSONA is the mask that YOU wear. We ALL wear a 🎭 MASK 🎭, it’s our representative that people see and how they PERCEIVE us upon the initial encounter. Based on how YOU want others to perceive you, is the image you’ll PROJECT to the world. The PERSONA we take on is socially acceptable, it’s not something that in unpleasant. The truth is that we all wear a mask, because, it’s a necessity to socially navigate in our society. For some (including myself, initially) didn’t like the notion of that, because, this may imply being “fake”, “inauthentic”, “not being true to yourself”. However, as I examined further of the function of the PERSONA, it began to make more sense. Wearing a mask is not a bad thing per se, however, the difference lies between if a person is conscious vs. unconscious of the MASK they are wearing.
What “difference lies between … conscious vs. unconscious”? If someone is unconscious (unaware) of the MASK they wear by default they may believe it’s their “true” identity; one who is conscious (Self-Aware) of the MASK they wear knows that it serves as a purpose and it’s not their “real” identity. I hope I didn’t lose you at this point, if so comment below. Hopefully, this makes sense with the aspects of conscious vs. unconscious regarding the PERSONA.
So… how does this relate to the work that I do you maybe wondering🤔?
When meeting someone for the first time our natural tendency is to put our “best foot forward” and making a great “first impression”. When we do this, it’s not being fake, we’re just showcasing or highlighting the best aspect of ourselves. This concept is displayed when going on a job interview or on a first day. As I mentioned previously, the PERSONA is socially acceptable and pleasant. However, if you keep perpetually living from this space to meet other people’s expectations to feel “accepted”, while, suppressing the REAL YOU just to show face. If you are not careful, living life on the surface may result in feelings emptiness, loneliness, boredom, resentment, or emotionally unfulfillment, or come across as “shallow”.
In addition, you maybe hesitant to let certain individuals (good intentions) to get to know you on a core level or get close to you, because, you maybe afraid that if they get to know the REAL YOU, they may not like you or reject you. Therefore, it’s easier to wear a mask to keep up the façade when you first met. Oftentimes, when this happens a person’s insecurities flares up and their SELF-SABOTAGING behaviours may unfold. Which may play out in a form of being deceitful (for self-perseverance), perform disappearing acts (stop call/text/contact) or other knee jerk reactions to keep themselves protected/guarded. These types of behaviours or logic seems twisted, however, it may serve a purpose to the individual. TRUST this is NOT an excuse for a person’s less than ideal actions, however, it’s brief insights of how (unconsciously) self-sabotage or holding yourself back can prevent you from experiencing a greater life & LOVE. Whether it’s with yourself and/or with someone else. Ideally, it’s easier to be authentic if surrounded by others who accepts & allows YOU to BE YOURSELF!
Free LOVE Assessment 👉🏾 bit.ly/FREELOVE30 (30 minutes) 👈🏾
Shana Love Coaching 