Masks - the persona's we create for ourselves... and for others. 🎭

Masks. All manner of folks wear them at all manner of occasions. Halloween, Masquerade, on the stage or in the movies. They wear them because they are playing a role. They are pretending to be something they are not. To terrify. To pretend. To mystify.

We are not all actors, but we all wear our own masks for our own reasons. I'm going to talk about a few here and hopefully help you identify a few masks of your own. Masks for myself, to pretend to be someone I'm not, and masks for other people, which I've worn for their approval. The question is, do any of us really need a mask?

Mask 1: The Dragon

This is a mask I can feel myself wearing right now. Confidence is a trait I've lacked my whole life, but sometimes you need it to be oozing from you like a gooey chocolate cake. I am currently in a leadership role, with 20 people looking to me for guidance, support and leadership. Sometimes, this terrifies me as I often feel I can't really guide myself well, let alone others. But I can't let the doubt creep in, because at that point - you lose them. So I don a mask. With this mask I feel I can act with authority, confidence and strength. Who knows. Maybe if I wear it long enough, it'll rub off.

Mask 2: The Big Bad Wolf

The Big Bad Wolf dresses as Red Riding Hood's grandma, puts in the fake teeth, nightgown and usurps her position to try and entice others. This mask isn't always malevolent. This is a mask I've worn before, a few years ago. I began to mould my personality, interests, lifestyle into a way that gained the approval of a certain person. I didn't consciously know this until much later, until the veneer was removed forcefully, because this mask feels good to wear. In the end, despite my best acting, it didn't work. That's a mask we all have worn to varying degrees, and ill wear it again at some point no doubt, unless I begin to hold myself in greater esteem. 

Mask 3: Humpty Dumpty

The last mask I want to talk about is more abstract. It's more of a mental block. Think of it like a firewall on a computer. It allows some information in and some information out. The problem with this mask, is it often let's bad information in and seldom good information. This mask is our doubt, our negative self-talk. That voice who says "you're not good enough". The voice that says, you should have got an A* when you got an A. That voice that says "I am not fit enough" when you train 4 hours a day. That voice that says "I am worthless" when love is not returned.

Yeah. This is a mask too. It's a other instance of playing a role that you are not, not really. You are a jumbled collage of experiences, emotions and feelings. To focus on the negatives is like the universe existing, not with Red, Green and Blue, but just Blue. You miss most of the spectrum. You miss most of the real you.

Some masks can be harmless enough. To masquerade.

Some can completely mislead you. To mystify.

Some can kill. To terrify.

Don't throw away the mask. But do try to understand why you wear them in the first place.

Joe