July 5, 2017 at 8:11 am

I find that we people have two selves – the inner self and the outer self. With the outer self, I’m not referring to physical appearance, not entirely. Let me explain.

The outer self is what we want others to perceive. This is everything from how we dress to the way we present ourselves with actions and words. Often, people tend to desire for others to perceive them as the opposite of their inner self and put on a fake persona. Perhaps, they are ashamed or consider their inner self to be lacking. Everyone, at some point, encounters a person’s outer self. Social media is a big display of this persona.

With the inner self, we find ourselves more protective and secretive. Few people will ever truly meet this persona – close family, children, spouse, or a close friend or two. For some people, no one will ever meet most parts of this persona. It is rare for anyone to reveal a majority of this persona, let alone 100% of it. A person’s journal typically reveals most of this oersona, but maybe not all of it. It is interesting to note that pets most likely meet their owner’s inner self very quickly since they cannot reveal to any other human the hoax of their owner’s persona.

On a side note, the outer persona can be quite the chameleon, changing based on the person or persons they are with at the time. Maybe you notice your new friend acts different around you than in groups. This isn’t because the person has showed you their inner self. This is because they have a chameleon outer self. People without the chameleon outer self just have a default that they shift to in different amounts depending on comfort level with the person or persons present.

In conclusion, these two personas usually clash with each other, making it difficult for others to truly understand a person. Trust issues can occur upon the discovery of just how much they might clash in a person. When meeting someone for the first time, keep in mind that you are meeting the persona they want you to meet or think that you want to meet.