Do you limit yourself? 4 steps to remove your mask

Do you consider yourself putting on a mask? Do you limit yourself when expressing yourself? Is your true self hidden behind armor or a wall? Do you relate to other people without showing your emotions? Don’t you like showing your vulnerability? Do you feel like you are repressing or inhibiting yourself? If so, you are living halfway! It would be better to enjoy your emotions and be able to share them. If you want to feel liberated, below I explain 4 steps to remove the mask. I warn you that the road will not be easy, but you will surely get there.

To begin, you need to understand that putting on a mask is a defense mechanism, a way to protect. Do not feed feelings of guilt or try not to “beat yourself up” for putting it on. With a very high probability, you are doing the best you can. In fact, it is very common to build apparently protective barriers. At first you may think that no one can hurt you and you won’t feel overwhelmed by unpleasant emotions, such as fear or sadness.

Apparently or temporarily, the mask can give you this feeling of protection. You feel like you are in control and that you can take it off and put it on when you need to. Later, you realize that you have become accustomed to it and that it is no longer so easy to show yourself freely, without protections. When instead of protecting you it catches you, the problem appears.

1. Realize and be prepared to take off your mask

The first step to removing the mask is to realize that you are wearing it.. Maybe for a long time, longer than you imagine. Perhaps you have not realized that you are trying to protect yourself in this way or perhaps this is not your case. Fortunately, there are other ways to prevent damage that really work. You can learn to take better care of yourself.

Once known, identified, for the mask to disappear, this desire must exist. To do this, it is important to engage in positive negotiation with your internal conflicts. For this you need to find that rhythm that your mind and heart need.

2. Have patience and courage and feel accompanied

Patience is a valuable quality because, among other functions, it ensures that motivation is maintained. In this sense, it also has to do with creating a space for transformation to occur. Yes, that profound transformation that intervenes on the focus of the problem and produces changes that can be maintained over time.

Solving internal conflicts requires great motivation that only you can fuel.. Therefore, courage is essential, another powerful quality that allows you to face them. In any case, feeling accompanied by a person who loves you, such as a friend, brother or sister, or a psychologist helps you stay strong to move forward and manage to take off the mask.

3. Know you and accept you

In order to accept yourself, it is essential that you first know yourself. Knowing yourself means knowing what you want, what you like, what you would like to achieve, etc. Maybe you think you have it figured out, but you probably need to know yourself a little more. You can dedicate more time to yourself, alone, just with yourself. This time has to be silent, without distractions and even without thoughts. The purpose is to be able to feel. Feel the sensations of your body and your emotions.

You may not spend time being alone for fear of feeling your own emotions, but this is the path to accepting yourself. Once you know what you feel, how you are and what you like (even though it may be different from other people) you can begin to accept yourself as you are, without judging yourself. If you accept yourself, it will be easier to take off the mask because you will have nothing to be ashamed of..

4. Love yourself and love others

Once you have advanced in the process of knowledge and acceptance, self-love arises naturally. Love yourself for who you are and not for what you were in the past or what you would like to be in the future. Loving yourself with your qualities and also with those characteristics that you don’t like so much but that are part of you. If you want to change them, you can consider them as opportunities to learn. In this way, the love in you remains strong.

Loving yourself opens the door so you can love other people. This self-love is what fosters generosity without running the risk of responding to dependency, to a need to give to prevent the other from leaving.

I hope you feel strong enough to follow these 4 steps and blur that mask. If you are already aware that you have it, arm yourself with patience and courage, take time to get to know yourself and accept yourself. In this way, you will be able to love yourself and relate to others from love.

You might be interested…