Dealing with personal issues can be tough. Especially, since dealing with them requires our willingness to be open. Some topics are just easier to discuss than others. Usually, when someone asks us about our insecurities and issues, we tend to only scratch the surface. We cringe at the thought of stripping ourselves of daily ostentations that we call confidence. That kind of exposure requires vulnerability and, quite frankly, being vulnerable is usually the last thing on our list of priorities. For many of us, it's just easier to get into a conversation about someone else. It's almost like hearing about another person's shortcomings can make us feel good about ourselves or give us relief that we're not the only ones with issues. It's unfortunate, but that tends to be our nature. We choose to partake in these conversations and, in some cases, we leave people with the idea that we have it all together. Or, at least we think we do.
Sometimes, we fail to realize that we can only hide our issues for so long. We spend time suppressing things, but they never truly go away until we deal with them. Anything that we don't deal with internally will eventually show externally. It's best to take care of those things before they get worse. It's almost like a house fire. It may start in the kitchen, but unless you put it out, the entire house will burn down. If we put off dealing with our problems, then they could become much bigger. You're probably thinking, "Hey, I'm not that bad." But, if we are honest with ourselves, we all can admit that there are problems in our lives that we are hesitant to face. Some of those things are kept tightly sealed in small areas of our hearts and we have no plans of sharing them with anyone. Unfortunately for us, other people will begin to see them. If they confront those things, are we will to talk about them?
Now, we must understand the practicality of making good judgments. We cannot tell everyone everything. Sometimes, we talk too much and then get upset with the people that pass on the information. Not every person can be trusted with our personal business. We have to get to a place of maturity in order to identify who those people are. Common sense and a person's track record can determine who those people are. Using discretion is key in these situations. However, don't let your lack of trust for certain people cause you to put everyone else in that same category. Pay attention to who you share with, but don't use distrust as a crutch to avoid change.
Our tendency is to hide the ugly side of ourselves and only show what looks good. Ask yourself: Have I put on a façade? At some point, we all probably have. It can be easy to create an illusion of the person that you think people want to see. All we have to do is not allow people to get too close to us or share little no detail about our lives. If we keep people at just the right distance, we can make friends and acquaintances while we control who goes through our mail. In other words, we know how to keep people out of our business. Oddly, though, we want others to be open to us. We want to have relationships with people that institute long awaited intimacy, but we are limited in our willingness to be honest about ourselves to those same people. If we desire to have good relationships with others, we need to learn how to be honest. Removing the mask that we've shown to others can be difficult, but the courage it takes to do so can motivate us to get rid of the mask completely.
They say that the first step to real progress is admitting that there is a problem. Once we identify the issues within us, we can begin to be intentional about fixing them. Pride keeps us in the same place year after year, relationship after relationship. We must humble ourselves enough to admit that we have issues that need attention. We must also know who we can trust to help us with those issues. Don't keep being the person that can see other people's problems and not your own. Be the person that can be honest about your issues and encourage others to face theirs.
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