I read somewhere that today was National Multiple Personality Day. At first, I thought what a strange thing to observe, but after thinking about it, I’ve come to the conclusion that in today’s day and age, there are some aspects of this disorder that deserve a little exploration. Since I am no expert on this topic in a clinical sense, I will just be sharing the thoughts the observation of this day has provoked in my head.
Now, let’s be honest, some if not most of us consciously make choices every day to reveal only the sides of ourselves that we would like other people to see. Our true personalities are reserved for the comfort of our homes or for the security of the people who know and love us, “warts and all”. In public we pretend to be a different version of ourselves, ones we think will be more liked and accepted.
Today in the age of smart phones and social networking we see this play out every day. Often images posted are far from reality and sometimes the lives and personalities of the people we know are completely different from what we see portrayed on social media. Have you ever been guilty of taking many versions of the same picture while holding your stomach in, tilting your head to the left then to the right until you have finally gotten the right shot and though it looks great it’s not a true replication of what you really look like, yet that’s the version you post anyway? Guilty? Don’t worry, I’m over 50, of course I am too. Smart phones have worked wonders, with the right angle, the right editing and the right audience we can transform our appearance into whatever we want it to be. We can also alter attitudes and personalities in videos and recordings just to achieve the “right” effect.
Even without social media we display personalities that are not true to who we are. We do it at work, at church, when we’re out with friends or wherever. The question is, why do we do that? Is it just harmless fun or do we have personalities that we are genuinely trying to hide from others or maybe from ourselves, if that is even possible? Don’t look at me, I don’t know the answer, I’m asking you?
My take is this, a little harmless posturing here and there is okay as long as you don’t start buying into the hype and believing your fantasy is your reality. Like anything else, sensibility and moderation are needed and remember you are only transforming what you appear to be. A smart phone or a fake persona cannot change your true personality, or your heart or what’s in your head and definitely not your reality.
Image by: Vequill.com
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Sincerely Jan 
Well written. Yes, we all have multiple personalities but we can hide our personalities.
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We hide until we can’t 😂.
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Love love this blog. ❤️
We portray different personalities but the true one comes out with the people you feel safe to be around. This takes time.
Now that I am a woman of a certain age, I have gained the confidence to be my genuine self in most cases, places and spaces.
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Yes we do, I hope you still like me as a friend warts and all😂.
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I suppose you need multiple personalities to survive in this world, but I find as you get older it tends to wane. I believe it wanes because you become more secure in yourself and you don’t have the desire to keep up the facade. This is just my perspective though.
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You are completely right Michelle, as we get older, we realize we don’t have time to tolerate BS so we tell it and show it like is.
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Yep, I think we’re all secretly bi-polar. Well, most of us it’s not a secret anymore, but we all need multiple personalities to survive in todays world.
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So right, I think it’s called being “diplomatic” 🙂.
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I think we have many facets to our personalities, like a cut diamond. Depending on the crowd, we shine forth a different facet. I am what you see, I do not change or hide my true self.
Of course the people I associate with are not in offices and businesses, but ranchers and farmers and meat processors. Perhaps fighting the elements of nature and trying to make a profit have caused us to have a realistic approach to others. Also, farming and ranching is a business where you have to be honest in order to stay in business. Frankly, we do not like BS as we walk in it everyday..(.joke)
I agree with what you are saying, it is true. My daughter has to put up with what I call “office politics” at her job. She has to use care in what she says and does and to make sure all is politically correct.
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Guess it’s okay to play a little politics as long as you’re not compromising your integrity. That was the one thing I hated the most when I was in the corporate world. Guess we needed to be walking in more BS just so we could hate BS 🤣.
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This is interesting. And it IS interesting that there’s a day. About 10 years ago, or so, I decided not to be all these different versions of myself in all these different spaces. It’s too hard to keep up with, and it shows a lack of authenticity imo. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but I haven’t regretted that decision. Of course, I still want my social media photos to look a certain way, but I stopped with the angles, etc. At some point, I figured people just needed to see me for me 😉
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Yeah life is so much easier being yourself. Lately my situation has also made that so much easier 😊. As for angles, it’s a part of me, I use it for pictures of landscapes and images. I’m always on the hunt for the perfect shot 😂.
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This is so true. I was smiling as I read this blog because I am guilty of trying to take that perfect photo from different angles and I still do😊 For the most part, I always find that it is so much easier to be myself. 😊
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Joy you’re as real as they get🙂.
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You have a way with words mommy
I love your writing style and your usage of words
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Thanks you my dear for saying that, much appreciated!
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