Expressing Your True Self

"A friend is someone who knows all about you, and loves you just the same.

~ Elbert Hubbard

Do you have fun in social situations? Do you express your True Self with others?

Here are some journal prompts to help you to express your True Self in social settings.

1. Observe yourself in social situations. Note what feels true and what feels false about you. Observe how your socially adaptive self behaves when you feel pressured to fit in.
2. Examine your adaptive self. Consider when you stopped expressing yourself authentically. Contemplate when your false behaviours originated. What aspects of you were approved of by others, and which parts of you were rejected by others in the past?
3. Sense into your True Self. If you have significantly changed yourself to fit in, your True Self might be submerged far below your adaptive self. It might even seem invisible. Describe what your True Self feels like to the best of your ability.
4. Connect your adaptive self with your True Self. Invite your socially adaptive self and your inborn True Self to have a discussion. Introduce them to each other. Invite each aspect to share its point of view. Encourage each side of yourself to express fully.
5. Face your fear of true self-expression. Your adaptive self is protective, aiming to keep you safe from social ridicule, condemnation and rejection. Big courage is required to express who you really are.

Are you expressing who you really are with others?