“In order to find peace, we must expose the masks we use to hide behind.” – Debbie Ford
We learn to wear different masks to feel safe, usually starting in childhood. These “masks” develop into what I call Imposters.
And the challenge with Imposters is that, left in your subconscious, they tend to wreak havoc on your life.
But!
Once you learn to befriend your Imposters (and wear your masks when it’s beneficial or even helpful)… you can experience genuine FREEDOM.
This takes practice, of course.
But let me explain with an example.
Recently in an interview with Debbi Dachinger on the Dare To Dream Podcast, Debbi asked an important question. She said, “What can you do when you know you acted from your ‘inauthentic’ self?”
Debbi detailed an incredibly relatable interaction: Imagine you’re meeting someone you admire, and they show genuine interest in you… but instead of responding how you normally might, you bubble over with unfamiliar (and too many!) words.
You OVERSHARE.
What happens then? What can you do… *instead* of shaming and berating yourself for behaving oddly?
Here’s my advice: Return to your authentic self.
Find out which of your Imposters was reaching out to you at that moment by asking, “Which part of myself needs love right now?”
It might be that your insecurity was triggered by meeting someone new and “better” than you. Maybe the other person reminded you of a previous authority figure who made you feel “small.” Or perhaps you wanted to show off to the other person, and it brought you back to “overindulging” like in your childhood.
Whatever the reason, it’s yours (and yours alone) to figure out. But once you do, you have the power to go from ‘inauthentic’ to ‘authentic.’ Just like that.
If you live in authenticity, your Imposters can actually work for you (not against you).
Because (and this is important!) your Imposters are not “good” or “bad.” They’re tools that you can implement in helpful (or harmful) ways… depending on how well you do this work.
Learn more when you listen to my conversation with Debbi on the Dare To Dream Podcast.
