It’s amazing to me that whenever we meet someone new we always want to put our best foot forward. It's expected of us too, we wouldn’t want to be telling our darkest secrets to a complete stranger and it completely robs our chances of connecting with that person because of all the gory details we shared, the person would most likely find it difficult to accept us. I mean who doesn’t have something we would rather keep to ourselves?
Which brings me to this topic today. I love interacting with different people and if we really listen to them we can learn something from them no matter what walks of life they may be from. I just love listening to people's stories. So If you have one let me know if you care to share. They say a problem shared, a problem halved, right?
Just to clarify saving face is when we try to cover up the truth about ourselves because we fear the judgement of others, we fear what they will think of us, we fear the embarrassment of our truth and so we tend to lie about it or say some of the truth but keep the part we don’t want to share to ourselves. Can I ask you something? How does it feel when we do that? Doesn’t it rob your peace? Doesn’t it make you have sleepless nights? Doesn’t it make you wonder why am I doing this? Doesn’t it make you feel like you don’t know whether you’re coming or going? I can only imagine.
The price of insincerity can be very costly to our health. A research carried out by the University of Notre Dame found out that people who told fewer lies improved their overall health over a 10-week period. So telling the truth is scientifically proven but even before this study the Bible reminds us that
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32 (NKJV)
Being sincere and honest about what is really happening inside you is the best start to changing the situation you’re experiencing right now. Maybe you’re the life of the party, everything is going well for you, or so it seems to everyone else, but when no one is around or when no one is watching. You have no sense of purpose, no sense of direction, your past keeps repeating itself over and over in your mind and you can't seem to let it go. Maybe it's something you did or maybe it's something someone else did to you. No matter what it is. Telling your truth is the pathway to happiness.
As I’ve said earlier in this post, a problem shared is a problem halved. You may think that no one understands what you’re going through but until you have the courage to speak your own truth you will never know that the person you sit next to, the person you work with, the person you spend so much time with may have experienced the same thing you’re going through and may be able to encourage you or direct you in the right direction if they don’t have to right tools to assist you.
I can tell you, it’s not easy to save face because you’re constantly worrying about what others will think of you. You have no peace whatsoever. Now imagine having the courage to be open and share your struggles, who can hold it against you? You won't have to worry about being found out, you won't have to worry about what so and so is going to say. Why? Because if you own your stuff no one can hold it against you. I believe I wrote a post about this a few weeks back you can read it here.
There are times when I would listen to people who have shared their stories with me and I would listen to what they have to say, there are times when I don’t have all the answers but all I did was listen. And soon after they would say to me, I feel so much better after sharing that because I’ve not been able to share that with anyone else before.
So I’m here to encourage you today, don’t suffer in silence. Tell your truth whatever it is. It is better to suffer for the truth than to suffer in silence because of a lie or because of the fear of what someone else may think of you. Find someone you trust will give you the right counsel and start from there. We don’t have to see the full staircase all we have to do is have the faith to take one step at a time, and when you look back you will see how high you’ve climbed.
Until next time, say your truth and take back your peace!
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