I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping.  José Micard Teixeira

It pays for us to be real with ourselves and it pays to be real with people. Being real equates to credibility and integrity. If those things are missing in our daily lives then it really makes no sense to interact with people.

If these simple but important characteristics of credibility and integrity are missing from our daily lives then what does it mean for us? It means that we cannot be taken seriously, people will never know when we are being true to them. How does it benefit us to not be true to ourselves and others?

This world that we live in encourages pretense and facilitates deviant behavior to get through in life. We should not allow societies rules and restrictions along with people to dictate how we represent ourselves and the image we portray.

There are times we may not feel happy and upbeat; I am by no means suggesting that you enter into an environment that requires you to put your best foot forward and you go presenting the picture of gloom and doom. Some situations will require you to be something other than how you feel; that’s being a responsible adult and knowing where and when.

So what I am suggesting is that we allow people to see the real us so that trust and understanding can be established. I should share that I do not welcome people easily into my space having learned the hard way. If I accept you in my space it means you will be with me for the long haul so I have to do my assessment. It therefore takes a while for me to warm up to people. I will not pretend at the onset that I welcome you with open arms (as I said I use to do that but wisdom has shown me otherwise). I will not be unkind but I will open myself with caution. I do not have a problem if that is reciprocated where I am concerned.

Like I said pretense is not sustainable, no matter how hard one tries to be who they are not, the real identity will emerge and it may be in the wrong situation and at the wrong time. LET US NOT TAKE THAT CHANCE.,.Let us be ourselves.