Face the Truth

Issue #39

One of the hardest things to do is to face the truth about ourselves.  It hurts.  And sometimes, the pain is more than we want to bear.  Sometimes, the truth does not fit our self-image.  And yet, when faced, the truth will make us better people — better creative leaders. 

Early in my career, I was assigned to work with a Vice-President on a project. We were talking about a presentation he was to give. I shared that the appearance of the material was very important—that people judge a book by its cover. He looked at me and said, “Why don’t you apply that to yourself.” At the time, I was a hippie. I did not wear a suit and tie. I looked in the mirror and realized I needed to change my image. Sometimes, we have to face the truth.

What truths are you not facing today?  What truths are you hiding from?  What truths do you need to embrace?  What lies are you still living with?  What lies are preventing you from becoming who you are meant to be?  What lies should you stop telling yourself?

This is a profound statement by the English novelist William Thackeray. The world that we see is a reflection of ourselves. 

I tell a story in my seminars about a little girl who lives in the mountains with her parents. One day, the little girl fights with her mother and runs out of the house. When she reaches the edge of the cliff, she stops and yells at the top of her voice: "I hate you. I hate you." 

To the girl's surprise, she hears a voice shouting: "I hate you. I hate you." This frightens the little girl, and she runs back into the house and tells her mother that someone out there hates her. 

Realizing what happened, her mother tells her young daughter to go back outside and shout, "I love you." The little girl tiptoes back outside and nervously tiptoes to the edge of the cliff. She calls out: "I love you. I love you." Echoing out of the valley, she hears, "I love you. I love you." 

 The message is clear: what we send out is what we get back.  What we expect to find in the world is what we see. If we think the world is a negative, hostile place where our enemies seek to destroy us, we will find examples to prove our worldview.

If we think the world is helpful and supportive, we will find examples to prove our vision of the world. The world we see is a reflection of the person we are. Have you looked in the mirror lately? What kind of person do you see?

Plant seeds of hope in the hearts of others.