Why do we feel that it’s necessary to hide who we are? Why do we behave like actors on the stage of our very own lives?
I do believe we all have a story to tell. But if what we share is not the real story, the entire story, the good-bad-and-the-ugly-story, then I donโt believe itโs worth hearing. Because filtered stories arenโt real.
I know, because I hid behind a false narrative, ashamed of revealing the parts of me that I was certain didnโt fit into the norm (whatever that means), or might expose me as not being good enough, โless thanโ, a fraud.
I used to feel piles of shame about the fact that the highest degree that I hold is a GED.
I went to college briefly but never finished. Most of my friends and peers had at least an undergrad degree, so I feared that my lack of education and similar โcollege experiences โwould render me an outsider or make them believe I wasnโt up to snuff to hang with them.
That feeling of shame I had surrounding this story had soooooo much power over me.ย This story literally shaped how I viewed myself and what I thought would be possible for myself.
But one day I decided to fully embrace my story and take my power back. Eventually, I had absolutely no reservations about telling people that not only do I not have a college education, but The highest degree I received was a GED.
Rather than hiding from this story, I fully embraced it because itโs mine, and it’s part of the full story that makes me who I am.
What I didn’t realize would happen is that being open about the truth of my story actually lifted any sense of shame I have been feeling prior to embracing my story.
Through my personal experience, I learned we shouldnโt own just the good stories of our lives. We should own the failures, the regrets, the poor choices weโve made or the wrongdoing that others have inflicted on us.
I learned itโs a choice to let your shame bind you, or set youโand othersโfree.ย I now powerfully choose the latter.
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