So, Halloween fell on a weekend a few years back… Saturday night precisely! Up until 10 years ago, I never really got into the whole dressing-up part of Halloween because I considered it “just for kids”, but 10 years ago, I purchased some professional quality face-paints. That was truly a game-changer for me! Cheap Halloween face-paints are horrible greasy messes, they itch, they smear.. and they just feel gross. When you get the proper products there’s no itching or smearing, in fact you forget you’re even wearing it!
So that weekend I painted myself as a cheetah for an event I attended. Before the event, I had to go to the grocery store and went with my face all painted like a cheetah. While I was wandering through the produce department I touched my face and felt the paint that was there. I had completely forgotten I was wearing a “mask”! And it got me thinking, many times we go through life wearing a “mask” to protect or hide our vulnerabilities. More often than not, we forget we’re even wearing that mask, and the façade becomes our “truth”, we lose touch with our authentic selves.
Now in some instances, the mask can be beneficial – when we use it in a positive way – for growth or to jump over some fear-based obstacle, kinda like that “Fake it ‘til you make it” phrase. Usually the beneficial mask is temporary. But many times it shows up in a way that takes away from our true selves – all in the name of being “normal” or “to be liked”. The mask gets worn for so long, that we forget who we truly are beneath it! I see this so often when working with clients for anxiety. Using hypnotherapy we can begin to release the masks and the baggage in order to return to a place of authenticity!
Now in some instances, the mask can be beneficial – when we use it in a positive way – for growth or to jump over some fear-based obstacle, kinda like that “Fake it ‘til you make it” phrase. Usually the beneficial mask is temporary. But many times it shows up in a way that takes away from our true selves – all in the name of being “normal” or “to be liked”. The mask gets worn for so long, that we forget who we truly are beneath it! I see this so often when working with clients for anxiety. Using hypnotherapy we can begin to release the masks and the baggage in order to return to a place of authenticity!
As George Eliot said – It’s never too late to be what you might have been.
Halloween is over! No more excuses. It is time to take off the mask of fear, conformity, self doubt, and self sabotage. Your hiding and playing small serves no one. You have been given gifts that ONLY YOU can share. Don’t hold back. Be brave. Be bold! Be Brilliant! Be YOU! Reveal your true identity. It is time to feel the sunlight on your face. The world is waiting for you. Don’t wait for the new year. Make a commitment to yourself today! Let’s do this thing called life!
