The Gift of Getting Caught Out

Some time ago I created and hid behind a fake profile name on Facebook. This happened during a really low, insecure time in my life.

Someone — somehow — found out about my fake profile and revealed it to their friends. One of those friends told me, and I was devastated - my cover was blown! I am humiliated!

But being caught out was a gift in disguise - it showed me where I lost my integrity, as well as how gullible I was in trusting people I really didn’t know.

From then on, no more did I hide. I realized it’s so much better to stand in my own name, share me and what I learn / realize in life than hide.

I find sharing yourself in a honest, self-reflective and responsible way to be a humbling but courageous process — You are venturing into the unknown when you open yourself up and you have no idea the kind of replies and responses you will get back. It may be good, bad or ugly, and you have to take what comes your way. Any / all comments that are not constructive or something you can learn from (ie: plain abusive or harmful) can be deleted.

But I emphasize these words: Self-Reflection and Responsibility. I am practicing how to share me in a way where I communicate myself and my relationship with something and share how I’m working on it in a constructive way.

It is one thing to complain and victimize yourself over something, and another to take responsibility of yourself and do something about it. So why not we reflect and shape ourselves in a way we can be proud and stand in? :)