Free Yourself from the Roles You Play

You might’ve noticed that the question of personal identity is a recurring theme in these informal discussions. So, you might be wondering why this topic could be so important to our health, our happiness and wellbeing. The answer’s quite simple. We invest so much of our lives into playing so many roles that we we’re oblivious to who’s waiting to be discovered beneath all the complex layers of personality that we’ve accumulated. Imagine spending your entire life playing a succession of roles you didn’t create and acting from scripts that you never even wrote. Perhaps it’s time to consider the alternatives.

We’re all the product of our early childhood conditioning and we unconsciously assume the thoughts and feelings that reflect our earliest experiences. Other influences will play their part but the foundations of our personality are imprinted on our impressionable subconscious minds before we reach the age of seven. That’s why almost everything we think, feel and do is a product of those deeply influential years. And that’s why we need to ask ourselves whether all the roles and attitudes we display to the world are helpful for our progress, happiness and wellbeing – or whether they’re getting in the way of our ability to understand ourselves and fulfil our hidden potential. In most cases, the roles we play might make us more socially acceptable. But they leave us feeling strangely dissatisfied. Because the roles are not who we are.

Mindfulness introduces a pause button that helps us to take a break from our stream of consciousness and observe the flow of our thoughts and feelings. This simple interruption allows us to enjoy a liberating sense of freedom and detachment from the flow of mental energy that keeps us distracted from experiencing a more direct connection with who we really are. Old habits are exposed as unconscious reactions to the world around us, a way of filtering information that conforms to set patterns of judgement and behaviour. In this space, we discover a much broader array of choices, an invitation to channel our mental and emotional energy towards more useful and positive results. In this moment of withdrawal from our familiar ways of interacting with the world, we catch a glimpse of something quite extraordinary. We discover a part of ourselves that’s remained largely invisible. We detect a calmer, stronger, more balanced and capable sense of self that enables us to flourish in the world. We release the internal resistance that has hindered our progress. We feel more comfortable with ourselves because the conflicting roles and facades have been discarded. You discover that you are finally free to be exactly who you really are.

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