By Molly Brown
As a child, nothing was inherently more sinful than lying. We can all recall an embarrassing moment when we were caught in a lie by our parents, teachers, or even worse, friends, and vowed to never lie again for we couldn’t cope with the traumatic aftermath. Though as adults lying manifests in different ways. These ways are subconscious and cloaked under specific intentions that we haven’t worked on uncovering yet or don’t even know we have to uncover, and the consequences are much deeper than a scolding.
We’re often poor judges of our own desires and emotions, remedying whatever it is we’re going through by using little lies to make ourselves feel better in the moment. We take these lies and denote them as facts about ourselves, making it a part of our personality. For example, claiming you’re “not a morning person”. When we say things about ourselves in a factual manner that are actually opinions, it is likely nothing more than a defense against a deeper meaning that is too painful to accept. “Non-Morning People” just haven’t made a healthy morning routine a priority and therefore have chosen to accept that it is not possible because it is just who they are. People invest their time into things that matter to them and when it comes down to it, everything is how you choose to see it. So we must choose wisely.
This notion goes for personal shame and low self-esteem as well. We’re afraid to let go of the beliefs that we’re naturally insufficient compared to others, not worthy of love and success, and victims in the sick hamster wheel that is life. We’re afraid because it makes us feel special. If we are naturally less-than, we can permanently use it as an excuse for all of the things we’re afraid of doing. We can continuously go through life thinking that things always happen to us rather than us allowing it to happen. If we were to let go of all of these negative beliefs, it would prove to us that the identity we have molded for ourselves is really not who we are at all, and that is terrifying.
The little lies we tell ourselves every day, whether it’s “I’m not a morning person”, “that guy will never like me”, or “nutrition and exercise just isn’t a priority for me”, all add up and manifest into our personal identity. They put our long-term needs on hold in order to fulfill short-lived desires and the more we continue on a dishonest path, the longer our personal growth will be hindered.
So if after reading this you’re questioning everything about yourself and have no idea who you are anymore, never fear, no matter where you are on your journey to self-growth it can always be a catalyst to become a better you. Start being nicer to yourself! Reprogram the internal monologue and rewrite your own narrative. It’s hard, but you’re worthy of this.