The Hard Truth

Dear Seekers,

Aiko Bethea, executive leadership coach, taught me: "when the truth is made public, there is a loss of innocence in relationships." These losses can be windows to progress or barriers to it. When we hear something that is hard to swallow, our tendency is to fight against it, defend ourselves, propose an alternative, or disagree. Many of us go to a shame place when our egos feel threatened--shame is the fear of disconnection and we are afraid that the undesirable parts of ourselves, when exposed, will lead to disconnection. We interpret the words of another as a personal attack rather than an invitation, a mirror reflection.