Have you ever experienced profound relief after having shared something authentically? This phenomenon has to do with telling the truth, and the truth inevitably has a way of producing a deep happiness within us.  Today I realized that I was walking around with the weight of a failure on my shoulders. I had a good goal – an achievable, even noble goal! When I didn’t accomplish it by when I said I would, however, my relationship with myself shifted. Instead of being a girl who simply failed to accomplish a goal, I became a failure! On the outside, it just looked like I was extra tired and overwhelmed with life. But what was the source of that exhaustion and stress? Sure, I was sleeping less than usual, and was more busy than usual. But when I took a closer look, it was not the failure itself that was making me tired and stressed – it was that I had literally begun relating to myself as a failure.

And thinking of myself as a failure was exhausting.

So I asked myself a simple question – was I willing to forgive myself? Here’s where things shifted again. Indeed, I was not willing to forgive myself. Why should I? I was embarrassed, worried, and sad. So I said no, I’m not willing to forgive myself. Immediately I felt a wave of relief. The embarrassment, worry, and sadness didn’t disappear, but what a relief to tell the truth! In less than five minutes, I had gone from being a failure, to being someone who wasn’t willing to forgive herself. 

So I took another look, and considered why I wasn’t willing to forgive myself. It was simple. The truth was that I really cared about what I was working on, and it was hard for me to accept that I hadn’t accomplished it. That was all! 

In the next moment I asked myself the question again: now was I willing to forgive myself? 

And this time I was. With the forgiveness came another wave of relief, and a sense of joy. 

So today I told the truth to myself about three things: 

• I thought I was a failure.
• I admitted I wasn’t willing to forgive myself.
• And then, I acknowledged that I was willing to forgive myself.

With each truth, I became increasingly energized and happy. Is there something you could tell the truth to yourself about today?

Written by: Rebecca Kline

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