The Truth: Self-Awareness Stories

“I don’t have an eating problem.” Says the fat man as he eats his second fast food hot apple pie.  “It’s not me, it’s him” she thinks as her third boyfriend in six months exits the restaurant. 

I’m sure you can list a dozen examples of people lying to themselves rather than face the truth about their life. But, becoming self-aware isn’t always about admitting a truth.  It could be discovering a truth. 

Jane Doe struggled with her self-esteem. She didn’t graduate high school. She got married young so she could move out. And now, in her mid-thirties, she’s a single mom of three. 

She wants to get her GED so her kids won’t think she’s stupid, but every time she makes a step towards the goal, life gets in the way. “I guess they’ll just see me as dumb.”

It was that comment that caused her friend to challenge her thinking.  “Jane, tell me about your job.” As Jane shared, her friend pointed out that Jane has a great job. She trains new associates, manages the schedule for a team of twelve technicians, and has billable transactions equaling thousands of dollars cross her computer screen each week. 

Jane’s not dumb. She has a very successful career.  Her perspective was from the idea that a diploma would change how people saw her. Reality is, she saw herself as dumb. Her company places a lot of trust and value in what she does.

After that conversation, Jane’s perspective changed. She realized the truth about herself. Now she sees herself in a whole new light. 

Sometimes we need another perspective to see the truth in us. We need to challenge our thoughts about ourselves.  Why do I think this? Is it true? 

We can get locked into an idea, believe the idea, and live the idea; and the idea might not be the truth. Occasionally, we need to check our perspective and make sure we’re being honest with who we are and what we believe about ourselves. 

When we tell ourselves the truth we can begin a journey to being the best person we can be. 

That’s how the DREAM4 way starts - by telling yourself the truth, about your employees, your leaders, you work environment, and yourself. Learn more about how DREAM4 can help you look at the facts to engage your team across all levels.