Leading with GRIT: Inspiring Action and Accountability with Generosity, Respect, Integrity, and Truth

Chapter 2Truth—The Core

Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.

—Kurt Cobain

I never realized how lost I was—how many masks I wore, just trying to please others around me. Did this come from being a middle child in a large family? Was it the guilt trips put on me as a child that made me too worried about what others thought about me? Or was it just something I was born with? I'm not entirely sure, but what I do know is that it negatively affected my life—at work and personally. At times, I would take on so much, and then feel like a victim for being taken advantage of. It seemed to me that the situation was totally out of my control, and I felt no responsibility for getting myself there. The more work I would agree to do, the more positive attention I seemed to be getting. Even my family and friends were feeling sorry for me for “the way corporate treated me.” Little did I know it was depleting me and I was on the verge of burnout. Yes, somewhere I had taken a turn and was becoming disengaged. I didn't want to come to work. When I was there, I couldn't really concentrate—I may have been at 50 percent capacity at times. This went on for years until I discovered my truth.

We've all heard the expression the truth will set you free. It dates back to biblical times when Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 ESV). Only once you discover your truth—what's important for you—will you be free to live the life you want. ...