per-son-a
noun the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others : her public persona
• a role or character adopted by an author or an actor.

ORIGIN early 20th cent.: Latin, literally ‘mask, character played by an actor.’

Persona. The word literally means ‘mask, character played by an actor.’

Personas. We all have them. A lot of them, actually.

Think of them as roles we’ve learned so we can function in our lives.

For example, I’ve got a “Mr. Perfectionist”—who needs to make sure everything is perfect. ALL. The. Time.

I’ve also got a “Nietzsche”—who, when he’s in charge, needs to deliver philosophy with a hammer. ALL. The. Time.

And, I’ve got a “Bodhisattva”—who needs to reach his own enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. ALL. The. Time.

And…and…and…and…

And…

:)

You get the idea.

Now, the issue isn’t that these personas are “bad” per se. It’s just that we can get in trouble when we get locked into one persona in particular and can’t step back, get a bigger perspective, and see that we are NOT any one given persona. And, equally importantly, that we can CHOOSE which persona we’d like to show up in any given moment.

For me, my “Mr. Perfectionist” wouldn’t have let me even get 20 words into this big idea because it wasn’t perfect. Thankfully, I no longer let him get involved in the early phase of my creations. But you know what? He’s perfect for proofreading. :)

Most powerfully, as we develop our ability to hold the spaciousness to see the multiple personas at work, we get better and better at tapping into our authentic self that radiates our true essence.

So, next time you feel yourself getting all tied up in a knot, see if you can step back and identify the persona that may be at work and wanting to make sure he/she/it gets is way ALL. The. Time. :)

Persona yoga: it’s all about being flexible, yo.

(The science? Patricia Linville, Ph.D., calls the ability to remain role-flexible “self-complexity.” Develop this and you develop you’re your resilience. And that’ll result in better mental and physical health and self-esteem. Sweet. Love it when science rocks it.)