Are you afraid to be yourself because you worry others may not love or accept you, you might hurt or disappoint them, or even be judged for being who you are?
I know that fear only too well. I'm 72 now, and looking back, I can see just how much of my life I spent worrying about what other people thought or even felt about me.
For me, it started when I was very young. I was highly sensitive and often picked up on other people's feelings without ever realizing that's what I was doing.
Because I was so easily affected by how they felt, I became afraid of hurting or disappointing people, especially my parents. For example, they were very religious, and even as a little girl, some of their beliefs just didn't sit right with me.
And because I wanted their love and approval, and other people's also, I was well into my forties and still often doing or saying what they wanted me to rather than what felt right for me.
It still gets me emotional to think that it wasn't until after both my parents were gone that I finally felt free to explore and share what felt true for me without feeling bad or guilty.
I realize now that for most of my life, all I really wanted was to be loved and accepted for who I was, not for who someone else thought I should be.
If I could go back and tell my younger self what my divine guidance eventually helped me understand, this is what I’d tell her:
“You're perfect just as you are. You've always been loved, and you will always be. Don't ever let anyone make you believe that you need to be someone other than you to be loved.”
Allowing myself to be me meant giving myself the same freedom others had. The freedom to discover what I believed, what was right for me, and who I wanted to be.
So now, instead of just asking, Why am I so afraid to be myself?
I also ask: What am I afraid will happen if I'm just me?
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