One of most quoted lines from the movie, Clash of the Titans, is
RELEASE THE KRAKEN.
In the film, the Kraken is a huge, multi-limbed sea monster that Zeus unleashed on the world to teach humans a lesson for their bad behavior. The quote has taken on a lot of different meanings over time, but for me today, it means releasing my true self.
Someone who knows me really well complained to me the other day that my blog posts don’t reflect who I really am. She said they’re not funny enough, they’re not “sassy” (not the word she used) enough and they didn’t make her laugh (and think) like I do in real life.
My comment to her was, “What the hell? You’re telling me this now? I’ve been writing this blog for 8 years!”
She went on to say that it wasn’t ALL my blog posts, there were some good ones in there. The one that was most memorable to her was a post I wrote entitled, “How to Know if You Talk Too Damn Much.” She said THAT post was the real me.
My concern about that particular post, which I do think reflects who I am more than others, also got me a lot of complaints and unsubscribes, surprisingly from the EXACT people I was thinking of when I wrote the post.
Her comments got me thinking. Am I being inauthentic? Do I worry too much about what others think about me? The answer is yes. I’ve always been this way. I may not look like it or act like it, but I do care way too much about what others think of me. Maybe it’s because of how I was raised. Maybe it’s because I’m adopted and the #1 fear of adopted people is abandonment. All this to say, I’m tired of overthinking every word I put in my posts and worrying about how others are going to take it.
I’m going to take a risk. I’m going forward with the assumption that you read this blog for the communication advice, but also because you’re someone who knows me and you like my style, or you’ve been in one of the hundreds of workshops I’ve facilitated over the years and I entertained you and kept you awake for four hours!
I also know some of you might not like the real me and you’ll unsubscribe– and that’s okay. Maybe the real me just isn’t for you. Even if that’s the case, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that life is too short to not be the real you . . . to always put forward a persona that you think everyone will accept instead of focusing on those who do accept you.
We’ll see how it goes. Wish me luck. It’s time to RELEASE THE KRAKEN!
Loved this! I was raised the same way and have always considered others feelings before my own or wanted to be liked. The nice thing about aging (for me at least) is that I am learning to let go of those programmed thoughts and realizing life is short so be who you are and be happy and if others aren’t happy about the change and no longer like the new you, it wasn’t really you they liked anyway. Those that truly get you – all of you – will still be there.
I’m glad to see that you will be yourself. Filters are sometimes overrated!
Sometimes you have to listen to that “inner you” that tells you to quit pussy-footen around and just be you. I’ve enjoyed the blogs, books, emails, and trainings that I’ve been to. The ones that I have enjoyed the most have been the ones where you just put some good old common sense and old fashioned values out there for people to think about. Hope you keep it up.