Do You Have Some Days You Feel Like You’re Living a Lie?
I believe that everyone has some days like this.
Who in the hell am I?
That’s the question, isn’t it? Who are you?
Then, because that question alone isn’t sufficient, where, how, and why also get tossed into the mix.
Everyone makes choices every day. Some are small and largely automatic. Some are huge with massive effects/affects and/or consequences.
Whatever the case might be, you will have both good days and bad days. Among these, some good days are life-changing, life-affirming, and memorably incredible. But then, some days are life-changing, godawful, and horrifically forgettable.
Most days, though, just are. You have a day.
And society prefers it that way.
In the United States, as far as I can tell, the preferred “norm” to be maintained looks like this: Get out of bed, do your morning routine, go to work (some 9-5 gig, whether at an office, home office, or hybrid). Then you go home, chill and/or do a hobby-type thing, and/or watch TV, and/or play video games, and the like. After that, go to bed – rinse, repeat.
For some people, this works perfectly well, and they’re content with it. Mostly. But then, I suspect, given that they’re only human, they have days of discontent, too.
Some of us strive to live a life that isn’t the “norm”. And those choices have the same results, good days and bad, mixed experiences, and so on.
But do you ever have some days where you feel like you’re living a lie?
Certain points of view
If you’re familiar with Star Wars, then you know that when Luke first met Obi-Wan and asked about his father, the old Jedi told him that Vader betrayed and murdered his father.
Then we learn – spoiler alert! – Vader IS Luke’s father.
When Luke confronts Obi-Wan’s force ghost in Return of the Jedi about this, the force ghost says,
“What I told you was true – from a certain point of view.”
When questioned, he goes on to say,
“You’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”
On the surface, that looks like total bullshit. But then – in real life – we get this from genius scientist Albert Einstein,
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”
All of this says the same thing when you break it down. No two people experience life and their reality of it in the same way.
While there is a scientific “reality” as we know it – for a much more technical and better explanation of this, do some physics research – individual perception of reality is variable. And more – colored by individual experiences, environments, education, and so on.
Let’s add a level of complexity here, shall we? You and I individually perceive reality in our own ways. But we also interact with other people. Thus, when you and I interact, our realities intermingle and might blend. Or clash.
Whatever the case might be – some days you might be copacetic with those around you – while some days, you feel utterly alien to everyone and everything.
It’s not unusual for some days to feel like a lie
Whether you are living a life that meets the expected societal “norm” or marching to the beat of your own drums – there are days that don’t feel right.
On those days, you might question things. Small things – such as why did I eat that donut? Or big things – like why did I take that job or why did I move to this place?
It might feel as though you’re living a lie on those days. That lie might be teeny-tiny or ginormous. And in all probability – it’s not a lie at all.
So what is it?
That depends. Some days it’s a purely internal matter. Your head, heart, and soul might be having a 3-way tug-of-war. Or you feel some way counter to your thoughts. Or there is just something off about things you can’t put your finger on, and it’s gnawing at you.
Some days, it’s purely external. Your mom told you all about the success of an old High School pal and you compare your life to theirs. Or a casual remark on the part of a friend triggers something, and you feel like your life is a lie. Perhaps some other external stimulus makes you start to think or feel “wrong.”
And then, some days, it’s a blend. That coworker getting the promotion over you causes you to question everything. Before you know it, you’re spiraling down, and wondering if everything in your life is a lie. Or you finish a major project, and rather than the positive reaction you expected from others, you get nothing or negatives and start to question it all.
Everyone goes through this. And while what it is varies – there’s something you can do to gain more clarity.
Mindfulness to the rescue
Let me be completely clear here: Mindfulness is not a cure-all. Neither is it the One True Way or similar. Mindfulness is just a tool you can apply to get some clarity and guidance.
Mindfulness is action to be here, now. It’s a means for conscious awareness of yourself. And that awareness is a product of the present and only the here-and-now.
To employ this tool, all you need to do is ask any one of these questions (and by ask, I mean either ask aloud and/or write the questions and the answers out when you ask them):
- What am I thinking?
- What am I feeling?
- How am I feeling?
- What are my intentions?
- What am I doing?
The answers to these questions can only be found here and now.
Once you ask these questions, you open the door to conscious awareness. Conscious awareness lets you look with clarity, in the now, at your life.
So, when some days you feel like you’re living a lie, odds are you have either fallen into subconscious beliefs, ideas, and notions. Or maybe you simply aren’t actively tapping into your mindset/headspace/psyche conscious self.
By asking any or all of the above questions, however, you take back control. That, ultimately, empowers you. Then you can see that you’re probably not living a lie – just having an off day.
And if you conclude that you ARE living a lie – mindfulness is a great tool to find and/or create a new truth.
Seeing the truth – when some days you feel like your life is a lie – isn’t hard
It’s all about working with mindfulness of your thoughts, feelings, and intentions to direct your actions.
When you recognize and acknowledge that everyone has good, bad, and off days, you can see that some days – when you feel like you’re living a lie – you can take action to free yourself of that sensation. Knowing that mindfulness is a tool that can give you clarity here and now when you experience this, you can actively choose how to analyze it – and initiate changes if needs be.
This empowers you – and in turn, your empowerment can empower others around you. Then that can expand to change the bigger picture matters, too.
Taking an approach to positivity and negativity – from the vast cylinder that exists between them – shifts matters in a way to open more dialogue. In that form, you can explore and share where you are between the extremes and how that impacts you here and now.
Choosing thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions for yourself employs positivity for realizing amazing potential and possibilities for your life.
Lastly, the better aware you are of yourself in the now, the more you can do to choose and decide how your life experiences will be. When that empowers you, it can also open those around you to their empowerment.
To me, that’s a worthwhile endeavor to explore and share.
Thank you for coming along on this journey.
This is the four hundred-and-eightieth entry of my Positivity series. I hope that these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.
Please visit here to explore all my published works – both fiction and non-fiction.
Please take a moment to sign up for my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button to the right and receive a free eBook.
Follow me here!
