When you were little the only thing you were good at sharing, was your germs. You had to learn to share your things. When your parents’ friends came over with their kids, you were encouraged to let their kids play with your toys. In exchange, you’d be able to play with their toys when you went over their house.
As you grew up you fully understand the concept of sharing and you realized the benefit so much so, that by middle school, you shared everything with your friends- clothes, books, toys, games, etc.
Sharing is risk. When you shared your toy there was a always a risk that it’d get broken, lost, or not returned. The more you cared about something, the harder it was to share it because the greater the risk- the more upset, or hurt you’d be if something happened to it.
That risk is why as a young adults, you don’t share the things that are the most important and closest to you. You don’t share your hurt, your pain, your sadness and loneliness and you don’t share your story.
The more important, the greater the risk, so you don’t share because you’re afraid. You keep things to yourself because you think no one will understand, can relate, will care, or maybe you’re embarrassed. But the truth is, freedom comes through sharing. When you hide, you rob other people of the opportunity to get to know you better and you fail to encourage them to do the same.
Your story is different from anyone else’s. You’re living your story as I live mine. I am learning to share my story publicly after many years of not seeing any value in doing so. Truthfully, I didn’t think I had a story. I’m a middle-class raised American child, educated in public school who earned a college degree, and who is in the process of starting a business. Snoresville.
I’ve started to share more about who I am, what I learned along each of those phases of my life, and what I want young adults to know earlier than I learned the lessons, and it’s been liberating. Not only have others gotten to know me better, but as I share, others share, and I realize that we have a lot in common.
We’re all on a journey trying to figure out life, who we are, and what part we play in the world at large. There’s no reason we need to go through it alone. Stop being scared to share.
Share your story, share who you are, what hurts, and what goal you’re going after. Find liberation through being transparent. Tell your truth, not your business.