What lies are we telling ourselves? True feelings nearly always find a way to surface. I know someone is lying when they talk about the negativity in their lives in every conversation and then backtrack with:
- “It’s Ok”
- “This is the way it always is”
- “Its a paycheck”
- “It’s too late to change” or
- “I don’t have any time”
They are letting their fear control their lives. Or we may not express the lie verbally and it seeps out with heavy drinking, incessant shopping, overeating or some other way to self-comfort.
Recently, two people I know were laid off and I said, “Congratulations!” I wasn’t being cruel. Each person had expressed over several years in changing careers and were hesitant in even taking the first step to explore the new career (as a side hustle, for instance). The external push of the layoff inspired them to take that first step. Interesting to note that each took action within couple of weeks of the layoff – meaning they had known what action to take. Tony Robbins quote explains it perfectly,
“Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change”.
Embracing truth and staying true to ourselves involves living in harmony with our values. It means understanding and embracing our own set of values, which may sometimes go unnoticed or unspoken. The closer we align our lives with these values, the greater our sense of fulfillment and happiness.
Unfortunately, many of us require a significant external catalyst or a profound emotional, mental, or physical pain before we decide to make a change. Personally, I experienced a period of quiet resignation followed by a forceful push in 2019, and I consider myself fortunate to have had a transformative experience during that same year.
It’s crucial to recognize when we’re being deceived, especially when we are the deceiver. Once we do, we can either make the necessary changes or, at the very least, adjust our perspective accordingly.
Copyright © 2023 Devashri Gupta. All rights reserved.
