The Problem With Honesty

It has been a while since I have blogged so I decided to test the waters once again to help me decide if I should start blogging regularly. What made blogging fall by the wayside for me? Well, aside from the time that it takes to sit down, transform my thoughts and ideas into real sentences and paragraphs, and edit for readability (all in my spare time), I have a bigger problem…

The Problem With Honesty
I have this inner struggle (both in real life and on the internet). I desire to be brutally honest about who I am and what I think. But at the same time, I don’t want to offend people or cause conflict or controversy. I truly wish I didn’t care about what others think so much… but compromise, harmony and “getting along” has been ingrained in me since I can remember, perhaps I was born that way. Sometimes I can get really fearful about this and I wish that I could just let it go.

In A World…

Ultimately, I want to live in a world where we can all be our authentic selves without judging the “other”.  After all, there will always be people that are different than us and choices that we don’t agree with. (I would hope we can encourage growth and improvement in our fellow men and women as well but that’s a whole other topic for another day). Perhaps you may think this is all too idealistic, but I would rather live as an optimist then give up on this seemingly small but very important dream.

I want to be more than just a shadow of myself

So, how can we move toward a world that accepts people for who they are? How can someone like me move in the direction of authentic living? Well, my first step is to try to overcome my own fears by stating aloud one bold thing per day that resonates with my inner being. Some days will require more bravery than others…some days I will simply remind myself to be who I am and be proud of that. Perhaps this small daily intention will be a step in the right direction toward authentic living.

Your Turn

Tell me about your struggles to live authentically and/or be honest with yourself and others. How do you overcome your fears?