Day 8 - Embracing Honesty

There are certain things about ourselves we will share with anyone. There are other things we will share only with our closest friends and family. Still some others that we only feel comfortable sharing with ourselves. And lastly there are the things we can’t bear to even share with ourselves.

Honesty, the ability to see and accept yourself and reality as it is, requires a tremendous amount of courage. For all of us there is a certain quotient of truth we would rather not see. To be able to step into the fray and engage the aspects of our life that scare us rather than avoiding the harsher realities, this is true bravery.

Denial can be hard to see in oneself while simultaneously being fairly easy to see in others. We have an uncanny way of picking up on the myriad ways others may be lying to themselves, and a much harder time negotiating our own internal deceit. To a greater or lesser degree, over the course of our lives most of us have built certain habits and defense mechanisms designed for navigating around reality rather than taking it head on. It can take years to discover these deeply rooted patterns and years more to reprogram them.

If we want to experience peaceful being and purposeful doing we need to become best friends with honesty. To see the reality of our situation as it is and the reality of ourselves as we are. To wake up from the illusions in our life and to see things as they actually are, not as we would like them to be.

Action Step:

Consider the following illusions... which do you currently struggle with? What other illusions do you find yourself sometimes getting caught up in?

Illusion of speed - Thinking that just because we have a lot of action in our life, you must be making progress.

Illusion of good outcomes - Thinking that as long as you have a good outcome, it’s okay if you compromise other people or other aspects of your life.

Illusion of desire - Thinking that our desires for success and acclaim are innate, rather than a a social byproduct. 

Illusion of worth - Thinking that your personal worth is tied to your output or ability.