A Journey of Harsh Truths
When you must face yourself in the mirror to become who you were meant to be
It’s recommended to have a pen and notebook handy for the upcoming questions.
Detachment Harsh Truth
When you’re in love, you don’t know when to let go of people who aren’t holding on to you.
Deeper Reflection
What does this sadness tell you about yourself?
What does it tell you about the person you’re struggling to forgive?
What pain or struggles might have led them to act in a way that hurt you?
If this person were gone tomorrow, would you regret not finding peace with the situation?
Childhood Dreams Harsh Truth
Question to Myself: As a child, what career did I dream
of pursuing when I grew up?
Inner Child Answer: I aspired to be a triple threat,
actress, singer, dancer, plus songwriter.
Question to Myself: Why didn’t I pursue these dreams?
Inner Child Answer: I didn’t have a lot of support and
I didn’t believe in myself.
Your Turn
Now it is your turn to ask yourself the same questions and respond with the truth.
Insecurity Harsh Truth
No external opinion can make you insecure about something unless that insecurity already resides within you. Own your confidence in whatever you’re doing!
Deeper Reflection
List the areas where you struggle with confidence (e.g., appearance, career, relationships, decision-making, etc).
For each one, explore what experiences or beliefs shaped your insecurity and what steps you can take to reclaim your confidence.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the intrapersonal exercises I worked through personally.
I found they helped reveal parts of myself I had silenced over the years. That silence came from family, friends, career, boyfriends, and, honestly, myself.
Fear of rejection and humiliation tends to be the root of these harsh truths.
Now, I am not a therapist, but I took a psychology course for a year and enjoy reading and researching human dynamics when it comes to inner conflict.
My successes in identifying these harsh truths, desires and dreams helped me make changes in reality, including taking actions to close chapters where I was only performing instead of living fully.
I learned that it starts with facing yourself in the mirror, even if the answers hurt.
Yes, it may sound corny, but the simplest tool of acceptance is staring right back at you every day, yourself.
This post was originally published on Medium and is cross-shared here on Substack with my Travelling Poet Community.
I hope you find value in challenging yourself to face these harsh truths, and if you want to go deeper, I recommend my book, which the above excercises came from: Then Til Now The Decade Continues. This book offers more of these excercises with stories and poems for actualisation and acceptance.
I wrote it based on my personal experiences and observations of emotional struggles, for those who feel the same heavy burdens.
It’s an alchemy of travel and poetry as self-therapy, complete with journaling pages for you.
Until next time, remember you are living in a dream you once had, be grateful.