the courage to unmask
weekly story work exercise
If you’re new here, Story Work is the name of my current book-in-progress. It describes a process of reflecting, reclaiming, and reimagining the stories of our lives. It involves looking at your life experiences as creative material that you have the power to shape.
The weekly Story Work topics cover universal life themes with references from literature, philosophy, science, and spirituality; offering perspectives that spark ideas for personal growth and creative expression.
Paid subscribers receive Story Work exercises every Sunday night at 8 pm et. Today’s exercise is open to all subscribers.
Hi everyone,
In my book-in-progress, Story Work, I talk about how changing your inner narrative changes your life. How letting go of limiting beliefs frees up your mind to explore new ideas and develop new thought patterns; and how this effort leads you to make decisions that align with your values and visions instead of your doubts and fears.
Part of this work is taking off our masks and releasing false identities that keep us from harnessing the power of our true selves. I know this isn’t easy at first, and there is discomfort and grief that comes with it. But when we face these risks and remove our masks we find courage, we find freedom, we find ease.
Ease.
I crave ease of expression. It took me a long time to find my voice, so this doesn’t surprise me. I’ve dedicated my life to studying and celebrating expression. When I think of the ease I want in my life, I think of being so embodied in my truth of self that I don’t have to overthink to express myself ever.
Ease is creative work that makes me feel alive. Ease is trusting my intuition and making choices that align with my values. Ease is trusting my pace and nurturing my magic. Ease is self-compassion and understanding my needs.
Ease is not creating unnecessary friction in my life by wearing masks in my work, in my relationships, or anywhere. Recently, in the gift of un-editing yourself, I said:
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Every time we abandon ourselves we have to put in work to regain our own self-trust.
When you turn down your authentic, creative voice in certain situations, watering yourself down to be more palatable for certain people, it’s much harder to get back to full expression when you eventually return to yourself.
The self-consciousness lingers. The self-editing lingers. If we stop abandoning ourselves, that energy can go into showing up everywhere—in our creative work, in our relationships, in our careers—fully expressed with our voices aligned with our truths and not our fears and insecurities.
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The promise of more ease and less anxiety inspires me to keep peeling off the masks.
What do you hope to gain when you unmask?
If our masks hide the truths that we think the world will not accept, then by studying them, we can discover what we need to accept within ourselves.
To study our masks we have to open new pathways in our minds, starting with heart-opening questions.
Last week I asked the question, “What can we learn about ourselves as individuals by studying the physical and metaphorical masks we wear?”
This week I’m asking, “What masks do you need to take off to unleash your creative potential?”
To find the courage I needed to start bringing my creative visions to life, I had to stop wearing the good girl mask. The victim mask had to go. The superwoman mask. The shape-shifting mask. The peace-keeper mask. And all the patterns and habits those masks perpetuated.
We have to take off the masks that once protected us and helped us survive. It’s not easy to let go of what once made you feel safe, and we get stuck there sometimes, between our old stories and the new ones we are creating.
Creative courage is the key to taking off the masks that preserve an image and hide your truth. In The Creative Courage Writing Intensive, we talk about our creative urges as clues that reveal who we are without our masks.
The parts of ourselves that we most want to hide hold the key to our healing, evolution, and creative expansion. In this group coaching experience, we break this heart-centered work down into a process that benefits you, not just creatively, but holistically. We examine our programming and remove pretense and ego, so our voices and visions can thrive.
If you want to be guided through this process, you can learn more about the intensive here. Early bird registration is open until Wednesday.
Exercise:
To study our masks and find the courage to take them off, we have to open new pathways in our minds, starting with heart-opening questions.
Reflections:
Which parts of yourself do you judge? What emotions do you mask?
Which parts of you were invalidated during your childhood?
Where do you compromise your authentic self to please other people?
What masks could you remove that would make life more ease-full and natural for you?
What masks do you need to remove to unleash your creative potential?
Storytelling:
Based on what comes up for you in the reflections, write about an experience or situation in your life that showcases these dynamics.
“being so embodied in my truth of self that I don’t have to overthink to express myself ever” Where has this sentiment been my whole life!!
The mask of "having it together" definitely holds me back from writing more freely. These days, I have a deeper understanding of where that mask comes from and what purpose it's served, but damn if it isn't hard to take it off! (Even during those times that I know it's maladaptive...)