I like to visit the Post Secret site. Updated every Sunday, it’s a collection of home-made art postcards sent in anonymously with people’s secrets.
I’m always humbled by the humanity shown in these cards, and by the
range of emotions and experiences – the secrets – that people describe
on their submissions: raw, horrifying, hilarious, tragic, delightful,
bizarre.
As the site says:
Each secret can be a regret, hope, funny experience, unseen kindness,
fantasy, belief, fear, betrayal, erotic desire, feeling, confession, or
childhood humiliation. Reveal anything – as long as it is true and you
have never shared it with anyone before.
True and never shared with anyone before: a true secret.
Some people whose postcards have appeared on Post Secret have written back to say what has happened to them since sending in their secret. For most the relief of letting it out seems palpable. For others it’s been truly life changing.
We all have secrets of one kind or another – some mundane or others perhaps ones we’ve hidden away for years. Whether we use a public forum like Post Secret or not, what might be possible if we told our secrets, let them go?
How might that simple act make a difference?
Before specializing as a professional coach in 2004, I spent more than a decade in leadership, management and program development for state and local government and non-profit organizations. Now I get to help leaders and teams have more clarity and ability to stand up for what's important in their work and in their organizations. Working with me, leaders and teams find more meaning and purpose, feel happier and more confident, navigate change and conflict, and work together better.