Being Honest About Yourself To Others

Is there something you want to be able to be open about but you find yourself keeping it hidden instead?  It's normal to conceal certain parts of ourselves to certain individuals.  In fact, being completely open all the time can cause all sorts of problems.  However, if you are finding yourself afraid to acknowledge who you are or what you believe at certain times, it may be causing some internal struggles for you.

If you are trying to overcome a fear of sharing something with someone that you really want to disclose, ask yourself what the worst is that could happen if you shared.  Would you lose your job?  Would this person stop speaking to you?  If you ask yourself these kinds of questions you may discover that you've been fearing a situation that isn't so bad after all.  Or, you may discover that potentially sharing this information does have very real consequences.  If you could stand to lose from sharing, look at what you will gain by being open.  Is the potential gain worth the risks?  

When your situation has more to do with being open with friends or family, ask yourself if you are pretending to be someone else for someone else's benefit.  If so, how is this helping you?  Or is it?  Sometimes we are so used to changing ourselves to make others happy that we forget how to make ourselves happy.  It can be hard to stand up for ourselves.  Nevertheless, you may begin to experience a greater sense of freedom to be who you are even if it means not everyone likes what you have to say.  

Deciding whether or not to be open about something is one thing.  Actually being open about that something is a whole other issue.  Can you practice by writing some examples of things you might say or ways you might respond?  Imagine yourself being the real you or telling a person what you want to say.  Talk to yourself in the mirror or record yourself saying what you want to say.  Perhaps you can practice by telling someone you really trust.  Maybe you can practice discussing it in a forum on the Internet.  You may even find a setting out in public where you can begin to practice being who you are so that you feel more comfortable being this way in other settings.  Remember to take small steps and practice so that you feel more confident.