We all wear masks of one kind or another. Sometimes it's a smile when we'd rather not. Sometimes we want to seem knowledgeable when we don't have a clue. Or we want to look strong when in fact we're terrified.
Masks are part of daily life, and in some instances they are indispensable.
But there's a catch. Whenever you choose to screen the truth of who you are behind a mask, you make the judgment that who you are is inadequate, incompetent, inferior, deficient or defective in some way. If you do that enough, you undermine your own self-respect. Whenever you express yourself and are met with rejection, ridicule or any response that devalues who you are, you stand at a crossroads needing to make a choice. You can decide that the response is inaccurate and meaningless or you can take the rejection to heart, agree that there must be something wrong with you and decide to protect yourself by creating a false but acceptable front.