Faking It
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” CG Jung
We walked into the Board Room and sat down for the meeting.
He was late. Again.
When he arrived, 30 minutes later, he gave some bizarre excuse and then engaged in the meeting. I talked with him afterwards and most of what he was saying just sounded made-up.
The frustrating thing was, that this wasn’t the first time. It had happened before. And, to me, it was a pattern of behaviour that suggested he was faking it.
As humans, we have amazing abilities to read moods, rooms, body language, people. It’s called ‘sensory acuity’ and it means that, generally speaking, we somehow ‘know’ when someone is faking it. Something triggers in us that tells us the words, body and actions don’t align and, when this happens, we pull back because unconsciously we start to question if we are safe with the person. This impacts our levels of trust.
This is one of the reasons why authenticity is important to us. It’s the opposite of faking it and, as a result, it tends to build environments of safety and trust.
Being authentic builds trust.
Authenticity is about being aligned with your values and identity. An indicator this is that you feel more at peace with yourself & your environment. Rather than the need to ‘fake it’, you can relax & trust yourself and others.
That sounds like a healthier and happier place to be.