We all project an image. An image of ourself that we want the world to see. We know we'll be judged, so why not choose the terms?
I wonder how successful this is. I wonder how often others see us as we want them to.
We walk into a new situation. We're a little nervous. Never been here before. Never done this before. But we don't want anyone to see that we're nervous, so we project confidence. Does it work?
We are asked a difficult question. One that we don't really want to answer. The answer might not be okay, or we just might not want to share the information with this person. So we dodge the question. We redirect. We move on as if it doesn't matter, as if it's trivial and not worth discussing. Does it work?
Our life is falling apart. It's the worst day we can remember having. Everything seems to be going wrong. Our heart is breaking. But we don't want anyone to know so we pretend that all is well. We hold it all together in public and do our falling apart in private. We try to fool everyone into believing that we're fine. Does it work?
And what if it does? What if no one takes the time to push beyond the exterior we present to find out how we really are, who we really are? What then?
And what if our carefully crafted exterior is so successful that we start to fool ourself?
What's so wrong with being who we really are, even when it's not what others want to see? What's so wrong with being vulnerable and needing help? What's so wrong with being unsure?
What's so wrong with being us?