I was updating my Linkedin page recently and I had a look through the first handful of profiles which appeared on my timeline. My attention is always drawn to the title – the line on which you describe yourself or your role – and there is a trend which I find a little bit confusing. Rather than concisely describing your job, it seems many people feel they must embellish their position in words that – frankly – make their job sound utter nonsense.
Chief Inspiration Officer, Ambassador of Student Diversity, Segment Advocate of Technology, Embedded Talent Partner, and Development of Kindness all appeared; I’m sure these roles are important and the people who do them are thrilled to be able to inspire, advocate and embed, but please… why be so embarrassed to have to embellish a job title?
When working with clients who are struggling to see through difficult circumstances or who are developing in a new stage of their life following planned, or unplanned change, there is a discussion which always causes deep thought, emotion, and reflection. The questions ‘who are you’ and ‘who do you want to be’ can be quite difficult to answer, particularly if the client has low self esteem or has been controlled in the past. At this point in the therapeutic process, I always encourage clients to explore their authenticity.
It is slightly ironic that with so many ways to promote what we are doing (while advertising where we are – and who we are with) the opportunity to be truly honest has been discarded and the world can feel like a perpetual one-up competition. And while this might just be a sign of the time, it is confusing and unnecessary.
Being authentic feels liberating, it removes unwanted metaphorical clothing, allowing you to be free – and when you are free, your ability to consider what you want, and re-evaluation of priorities allows for substantial change. Being free also helps to identify irritations which cause daily worry and anxiety, simply because you have so much more free mental capacity to deal with issues which you needn’t own. When we learn that we don’t have to follow the crowd to be successful amazing things happen. You can express yourself genuinely safe in the knowledge that some people may not agree, or even like what you have to say… but that’s okay, because why should we try to please everyone; keeping things honest and true to your values must be better than following the crowd?
Authenticity promotes self-worth allowing you to get rid of beliefs, habits and patterns that no longer align to your new way of thinking, helping you to answer the question ‘who am I’ more objectively. Sometimes – and this happened to me when I approached the process myself – it can be a nerve-wracking experience developing the authentic you. The outcome may be so far removed from where you originally thought it would be, but it will be honest and that will give you a fantastic – and enlightened – platform to develop from.
Promoting yourself authentically suggests that you are trusting – and trusted, and that you are open to new or different ideas. It shows you have thought long and hard about who you are and where you are going, it reflects depth and resilience. If you hide behind a job title that sounds like you are a contestant on The Apprentice, then you may well be making your world a little too complicated.
It’s time to take some clothes off…
For more information about counselling in Newark, or to discuss how talking therapy could benefit you contact us through the following link https://www.activelisteningtherapies.com/blog