Facing Your Shadow

Facing your shadow is the hardest self-work you'll do, but it's also the most rewarding.

When you free yourself from the delusions, self-deception, maladaptive behaviors, coping mechanisms, and personal disempowerment, you open up to creating a life more aligned with your authentic self.

I think most people have the wrong idea of what shadow work is.

When I first work with clients, most fear doing this deep but necessary work because they're afraid to reopen old wounds, admit guilt and shame from their past actions, or are still too attached to their pain, making it too hard to let go as it's now part of their identity.

I suggest looking at facing your shadow from a more positive mindset perspective.

Shadow work is what liberates you from continuing painful cycles.

Shadow work is what aligns you with yourself and your truth.

Shadow work is where the gold is hiding within yourself!

So instead of fearing your shadow, ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I have to gain from understanding myself more deeply?

• How have my coping mechanisms helped support me?

• What am I ready to let go of?

• How can I become more honest with myself and others?

• How have I been holding myself back?

• What is the next right step for me to move forward on a goal?

• How may I love myself (the whole self) more deeply?

While relegating parts of yourself to the shadows helps to protect your ego in the present, delaying this work or continuing to fear integrating your shadow will only push you further away from wholeness and authenticity in the long term. You'll continue to make decisions out of ego and fear, interact with others disingenuously by saying yes to the wrong people, places, or things, and continue to be confused as to why you're not happy with your life even when by society's standards or of those around you life is great!

I encourage you to make friends with your shadow. Ask your shadow what it wants to reveal, what it wants you to heal from.

Be encouraged and excited about doing this work; it's what genuinely lightens the burdens you've been carrying for all these years.