
… we each participate in pretending that all this is real, so that society might carry on as normal. The difficulty with the persona arises only when one becomes so closely identified with his role that he loses all sense of self. At this point the damage is surely done: he will be entirely unaware of any distinction between himself and the world in which he lives. The result of an inflated persona, Jung warned, is a ‘shallow, brittle, conformist kind of personality which is ‘all persona’, with its excessive concern for ‘what people think.’ Such a person will sacrifice himself for the wishes of others without limit — not because he is a saint, but because he does not have the courage to refuse and endure conflict.
“Our parents don’t see us as we are — they see the kid they remember. Our friends don’t see us as we are — they see the friend they remember. Only a stranger met on your travels sees you as you truly are right now.” — friend of a friend
der that the …d one nuggets of wisdom during his lifetime, but when it comes to navigating the world, the adage, “If you want to be interesting, first be interested,” has personally paid off the most. His words serve as a reminder that the best way to write our ow…