I have no fancy hashtags to accompany this message. Perhaps it would just be a gimmick anyway, and who needs another cutesy distraction to keep covering the real message?
My question to you today is, “Do they really know?”
You know them. “They” – the friends, spouses, significant others, colleagues, churchgoers, drinking buddies, club crew, fellow weekend warriors – are all the people who comprise your circle.
Do they really know who you are?
There’s no use in celebrating a new year if the “old” you is going to be keep driving on this journey. Essentially, an unchanged life isn’t moving ahead, but cyclically – in circle after circle with nothing to show for it but wasted time.
Don’t worry, I do get it: everyone doesn’t get a front row seat to your life’s events. That’s a wise and welcome position to maintain. However, for the few who would defend knowing you intimately, how many masks are you wearing for them?
We have a tendency to hide behind labels and titles, even accolades and failures. One beautiful gift about life is the consistent opportunity for change. For too many of us, sadly, this gift remains unopened because we’re so darned determined to maintain a status quo and follow a particular protocol.
Newsflash, loves: there IS no amazing in protocol. There’s protection, insurance, and routine, but the “greater” you’re seeking won’t be reached by staying in your safety zone.
If there’s a goal that scares you but you know you must achieve it, congratulations. You’re at the beginning of something incredible. I won’t bother to lie and say, “C’mon in, the water’s fine.” Oftentimes, it’s not! It’s cold, it disturbs your equilibrium, and it demands all of your attention in the adjustment period.
However, once you’ve found your footing and gotten accustomed to this new place, you can enjoy where you are. You can swim, surf, even float your way to the next place at times. Nothing happens, though, without your initial plunge into uncertainty.
This year, let “them” see you. If they can’t handle the view, so to speak, let them either adjust, ask questions, or move on. Partners can either walk beside you or follow you, but, for both of your sakes, they simply can’t be dragged because you’re scared to be alone.
Time to take off the mask. You can handle it. The real you – and “they” – are waiting.
