Stories we tell ourselves

 ‘What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we have’

Oprah Winfrey.

The learning which has changed a lot for me from inside is the realisation to see the truth as it is. It seems very simple but it is complex. Seeing truth as it is requires immense courage, no ego, non-judgemental,detachment from our own opinions and above all accepting that we are wrong many times.

I am still a work in progress in this but have come a long way from where I was earlier. My seeds for this thought process started with this beautiful book by Eckhart Tolle called ‘The New Earth’ where he talks so deeply about Ego and I realised all the thinking in my head is most of the times my Ego telling me stories and not the real truth. It is convenient and easy to just ignore the truth and accept our own self mind made stories as temporarily they make us happy but life is a self revealing process and it ultimately will drive us or lead us to truth .

Life gave me experiences which forced me to see the truth and I had no escape anymore. Initially it was painful as I had to swallow my ego and accept that I am wrong or had to re think a lot of my opinions which were strongly rooted and conditioned through many years. Once I started seeking the truth , I started receiving information needed to understand more . I stumbled on a book by Adam Grant ‘Think Again’ where he emphasises on Rethinking or the courage to change your original thinking. He writes about how many people find it hard to accept that they are wrong and to accept something new in spite of realising the facts /truth. That made so much sense to me as Rethinking requires the courage to see the truth by dropping our ego and assumptions. 

My first experience of Ego was in college where we were a group of friends chatting and suddenly me and another friend started discussing  about some topic and we both started supporting our argument with our facts and midway I realised she was right and I was wrong but I went on arguing anyway. I still remember that day because I didn’t feel good about myself after that and I am sure my group of friends also could sense the whole thing but unfortunately no one tells you anything and life lets you learn someday throwing experiences at you .

It is difficult when I started seeing truth in its eye as  accepting my own story with no filters required courage but it liberated me. Journaling everyday is a great tool that helped me to see the truth as it required self awareness and no fear of judgement as I journal to understand myself and not to prove anything to anyone.

Now I see the truth as it is or facts as they are in my life, my relationships and in my work. I am able to say , I tried well, I can do better or I have done well and many times this liberated me a lot as I seek help to learn and I realised I feel less lonely in many areas because you are getting many people to help you on your journey. It is a process and some days are still difficult as ego is always peeking from the corner to tell the story that is easy and flattering for me .

Authentic living is a beautiful concept and Brene Brown sums it beautifully’ Authenticity is a collection of choices’ Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make everyday. It is about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves to be seen.