Since Halloween is tomorrow, I thought about an interesting concept to discuss in light of the holiday spirit. In order to delve into the message that I have in mind, I would like all of you to close your eyes and picture yourself at an amusement park. This could be Six Flags, Disney World, a Carnival or any place where both children and adults attend in order to have a good time. When you are picturing yourself at this amusement park, you will see people of all shapes and sizes, ethnicities, and beliefs, or in other words, a melting pot. Some people will be overweight, others underweight, some dark haired, others light haired, some gorgeous, others unappealing, and some tan, while others are pale. The point that I am stressing is that all of these people can be placed into various categories based on their physical appearances; however, the surface level we see is often a misleading barometer of this individual’s quality of life.

I remember when I was in college and I became friendly with this girl. As time went on, I learned that this girl witnessed her father “cheating” on her mother at an extremely young age. I was intrigued when I learned about the past events that took place in my friend’s life because I questioned why she ALWAYS had such a difficult time in relationships. On the surface level, this young woman was beautiful, intelligent, popular, energetic, happy and fun, but her internal being was wounded in a way that she was unable to heal. It was as if my friend was a Barbie doll because her physical appearance was wonderful, but her insides were hollow. This real life story captures the essence of my point from above because whenever we are in the public eye, it is as if we are in a Halloween parade, with everyone dressed in a costume, or in other words, in their “facade”. This is unfortunate because it reinforces that many people allow their demons from yesterday to haunt them today. As a result, these individuals experience pain, emptiness, and depression in their lives, but the worst part is that they struggle to understand why this is taking place. There have been countless studies associated with the human psyche and how it will allow these internal wounds to scab over without ever healing. As a result of these scabs, the individual is forced to forget the pain of their past, yet never understand why they are lacking a BRANDENTITY today.

I used the example of the amusement park because I want you to understand and comprehend the magnitude of living a life in costume because hiding behind a facade keeps us from developing into who we truly are as individuals. I wish that I was able to communicate a solution to this predicament, but unfortunately, I am still on a quest to determine exactly what this will be. What I am here to share with you is that the emotional pain that you are experiencing will never truly leave until you heal the wound from the inside out, rather than allow it to fester with a scab on its surface. Part of me wants to influence you to “just take the costume off,” but in order to begin this process; you need to start shedding the costume at a pace that makes you “uncomfortably comfortable.” Regardless of how much time you dedicate to emotional healing, it is going to be uncomfortable; however, growth occurs outside your comfort zone. Therefore, do not allow yourself to tell a story as to why you cannot begin to live the life you truly deserve and instead, become conscious to your internal wounds that have scabbed without healing. This is a journey that may result in re-experiencing the pain, but it is a route that will enable tomorrow to be better than today, and the following years to be more incredible than you could imagine.

Although I usually say the time is here and the time is now to take action, in this scenario, I am going to tell you that you will decide when the time is right. Action might commence when you reach your personal tipping point and start yearning for more out of life, but before you begin, I want to reiterate that this process is not for the faint of heart, but at the same time, resistance is FUTILE because all it will do is prevent you from reaching what you truly DESERVE–a life of BRANDENTITY, which does not allow for living a life in costume!

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