One thing that gets to me is when someone act differently around you and completely change when you're not there. It’s a kind of behavior that feels dishonest and deceptive. For me, pretending is lying, plain and simple. Painting an image different from who you really are is lying.
If you have to change your opinion or your behavior or even the tone of your voice (I see this a lot), just because someone walked into the room, that says a lot. It means you're not being authentic. It means you're not being real. And sadly, it also means you can't be trusted.
When I encounter people like this, I don't fight them or call them out except they are people close to me, people I know will take corrections, for others, I simply flow with them, friendly but guarded. Still, it makes me wonder, "why can't you just be you?".
There may be different reasons why people pretend. Maybe they want to be liked or they crave acceptance and validation, hoping to receive compliments, or maybe they’re just trying to hide something ugly about themselves. But my honest thought is to stay true to who you really are, even if it's messy. That way, there's room for growth, there's room for correction.
There’s a popular saying: “If you lie to everyone around you, you cannot successfully lie to yourself.” And it’s true. You may successfully fool everyone around you for a while, but eventually, the mask will slip. The real you will show up, one way or another.
I prefer to know who exactly it is I'm working. And I'm well aware people have different behaviors, different temperaments, opinions, perspective about life. Knowing who they are helps me know how to relate with them especially if we'll be working together.
Thanks for reading through 🍀
Image: AI generated
Response to prompt@hive-naija/hive-naija-weekly-prompt-edition-100-kxr
