Persona

 

I was born as an ordinary cub. But my family is a bit different. My father is the king of the jungle. His dream was to see me become the next king of the jungle. He always taught me how to rule others. But I wanted to be a traveler. I wanted to see this beautiful world. But my fate was very different.

I am now a grown lion. Now I have to rule the forest as my father wanted. I must control other animals. I must behave harshly in front of them as a heartless person. Some decisions have to be made not according to my heart. But I don’t like it. Because as a character, I am a very calm and delicate-minded person. I love others and this world. Why can’t I be a subject and live a peaceful life? Why should I be a leader? My mind is always being a rebel by asking why I must do this. My father always said that a lion king should have a strong character. Everybody must act in fear and loyalty before the king. That’s why I should behave like that. This new character is very hard for me. Cause, this was created entirely for the world, not that I want. It entirely covers my true self. It is like a metal mask that hides my soul. But now I can’t remove it. The reason is that the world expects me to be the character I ascribe to myself, not my true self.

What if you have to wear a mask for your whole life instead of showing your own face? It’s not an amaze. We all have to do that at some point in our lives. At some point, we have to forget ourselves and live as the world wants. The persona is a psychological theory and also the mask or outward appearance that a person presents to others, according to Carl Jung's Jungian psychology. That mask is worn by individuals for a variety of reasons. Some people choose to adopt a persona or wear a social mask in order to seem more appealing to others. Some people need to adopt a persona to conceal their true identities. Some individuals may adopt a persona to become someone else's desire. We don't have anyone to impress when we are alone, but when we are out in public, we put on a mask or persona to give the impression that we are someone we want other people to think we are.

Persona became problematic when it causes them to lose all sense of who they are as a person. By this time, the damage has undoubtedly been done because he will have lost all awareness of the differences between himself and the environment in which he lives. According to Jung's warning, an inflated persona leads to a "shallow, brittle, conformist kind of personality" with excessive concern for "what people think." Such a person will give anything to satisfy the desires of others because he lacks the courage to oppose them and put up with conflict. The lion in the above tale detests his persona. He constantly fights to reveal his authentic self rather than his persona. He worries that his persona will cause his true self to be lost. Because he loves himself more than the persona. 

What do you prefer most? Real self or persona? .....