“You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.” Alan Moore People tend to live their life acting out roles that are obvious to anyone around them but opaque for themselves. You are playing the role and you are not conscious of it. Roles are the costumes and characters that you play that you somehow picked up in your childhood, teenager years and early adulthood and you confuse these costumes with your authentic personality. Imagine an alien that looks at the entire narrative of your life and can spot the roles that you are playing. Some of these roles can be personal, cultural or related to career and business, family, etc. Try to spot 3 roles that really sticks to you. Look for that “aha” moment! The List   -          The Perfectionist -          The Rebel -          The Alpha Male -          Mr. Cool -          The Winner -          The Looser -          The Haggler -          The Player -          The Nice Guy -          The Victim -          The Abused -          The Winer -          The Know-It-All -          The Professional or Respectable Business Man -          The Responsible One -          The Dependable One -          The Mysterious One -          The Cynic -          The Skeptic -          The Social Light -          The Attention Whore -          The Show-Off -          The Sergeant or Ruler Keeper -          The Crusader -          The Shy Guy -          The Nerd -          The Care Bear or Bleeding Heart -          The Lazy One -          The Virgin -          The Tormented Artist -          The Achiever -          The Guru -          The Free Spirit -          The Team Player -          The Addict -          The Vegan -          The Bohemian -          The Environmentalist -          The Rationalist -          The Scientist -          The Philosopher -          The Libertarian -          The Anarquist -          The Intellectual -          The Mastermind -          The Grumpy Man -          The Desperate Housewife -          The Soccer Mom -          The Lone Wolf -          The Drama Queen -          The Fuckup -          The Prodigious Son -          The Golden Boy -          The Try Hard -          The Gentleman -          The Good Christian -          The Sinner -          The Celebrity -          The Hero -          The Villain -          The Minority -          The Misunderstood Genius -          The Conspiracy Theorist -          The Exemplary Father or The Opposite -          The Critic -          The Outcast -          The Guardian of Truth -          The Savior of Humanity -          The Joker -          The Slick Salesman -          The Creative Genius -          The Hippie -          The Hipster -          The Frat Boy -          The Gym Boy -          The Hotshot -          The Airhead -          The Alcoholic -          The Clown -          The Newager -          The Idealist -          The Rag to Riches Story -          The Metrosexual -          The Sparkly Gay -          The Confused Homosexual -          The Preacher -          The Healer -          The Fat Guy -          The Patriot -          The American -          The Arab, Etc.     It is a gut feeling that you have when you recognize which role you are playing. The question is: Who were you before you picked up your role? Visualize how were you before your role was adopted and remember how different life was before the role. What was it like when you were living without any roles? Can you pinpoint the moment when you started to adopt the role you play? Why do you need this role? Could you start to let it go? What would your life look like if you start to let it go? Who would you become? You need to start taking off your costumes, so your authentic personality can shine through. You were usually purer in kindergarten, try to anchor in that. The way you drop a role is to become aware of it and realize how artificial it is until you realize it is stupid.