Do you know who you are?
On February 16th, 2011, by · Comments
“Possessing information about yourself is not the same as truly knowing yourself. Self transformation is always preceded by self-acceptance. And the self you must accept is the self you actually and truly are–before you start your self-improvement projects.”
David G. Benner, Author of The Gift of Being Yourself
Your success in the world is contingent upon knowing who you are. It is critical to achieving your goals and having the impact you desire. Building your self-esteem by discovering and knowing yourself allows you to be more confident, open and comfortable with who you really are and this self-knowing leads to self-acceptance allowing you to give more to your families and the world.
So how do you come to know all of who you are?
I recently found an assessment tool that you can use to gain feedback from others about your personal brand identity. It’s a powerful tool called the 360 Degree Reach which you can use free for 15-days.
I imagine you’re wondering if you really want to have others feedback about you. Yes, it’s extremely vulnerable to ask others for input. If you come from the perspective that not everyone is out to get you and in fact they may have good feedback to give you, it can help give you the courage to take this next step.
I was inspired to do this as a result of reading a recent Daily Workplace Inspiration received from Os Hillman. Here’s what he shared:
Someone once said, “Success is when those who know you the best are those who love you the most.”
Years ago a self-assessment toll was developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingram called the Johari Window. The Johari Window helps you realize where you are in your ability to know who you are and for others to know who you are. Real transparency in communication takes place when those we associate with us know who we are after we discover who we really are. See if you can identify what category you might fall among these four:
Transparent Life: The transparent life is the life we should desire. I know who I am and others know me. There is nothing hidden. I have come to know who I am as an individual and basically people get what they see in me.
Bull-In-The-China Shop: This person is blinded to the things that others recognize about him. The solution to becoming a transparent person is to get feedback from those around us about our blind spots in our personality. We must ask for the feedback and be willing to respond to their input.
Aloof/Hidden Secrets: This person lives in a secret world. They don’t allow others to know about themselves. They know themselves but are fearful of letting others know. Those around them do not know them either. What do others really about you? Have you allowed yourself to get close enough to others to share who you really are inside?
Hidden Potential: This is a combination of Bull-In-A-China Shop and Aloof/Hidden Secrets. It is the saddest of all conditions. These people don’t know themselves and others don’t know them either. This means both parties have to invest the energy to communicate and get feedback from one another.
How about you? Why not take a step to find out who you really are in the lives of others. It could change your life.
Photo Courtesy of Photoxpress © brunoil
Embrace Today
On February 10th, 2011, by · Comments
Where are your thoughts focused? Are you noticing what’s not working? Do you pay attention to what still needs to be done or what you still don’t have?
These are good places to look because it helps you choose your activities, supporting changes that intentionally move you in the direction of what you want. This is what will make your dreams become real.
The problem is that it’s a one-dimensional approach toward life. You are not just a “human doing” you are a “human being”. When you keep your internal focus zoned in only on the changes needed, you lose sight of what’s present here right now.
Ask yourself these questions to bring fullness to your life today:
- What’s good?
- What’s working”
- What can you celebrate?
- What strengths can you embrace?
As you consider this insight, remember that your life is like a coin. One side is about being in action while the other side is about slowing down to connect to your internal core. Both sides of the coin are essential to allow all of who you are to thrive and flourish at home, work and more.
So, it doesn’t really matter whether you have been on the doing side of the coin or you’ve been resting in the being side. Play with the coin, flip it and decide to embrace what’s here today as you let this present moment inform you of what’s next.
Your thoughts? Post your comments at the blog and share the wisdom.
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God’s gift, that’s why we call it the present.” Joan Rivers
Photo Courtesy of Photoxpress © angelo.gi
Accepting Oneself Completely
On February 3rd, 2011, by · Comments
Just yesterday I posted to my Facebook wall about the importance of “taking care of you”. Because of the thoughtful responses and “likes”, I realized that this was a “hot topic” that we all need to be reminded of. It really boils down to this…it’s essential to accept oneself completely.This is the place of self-mastery where you will find true fulfillment and make a significant contribution to the lives of others.
Since it’s a recurring sentiment among all women and I’m working on the website for The Leadership Collaborative this week, I decided to leverage my community and have collaborated with Nacie Carson for this week’s blog post. Enjoy and please, do something good for yourself today!
“The most terrifying thing is accepting oneself completely.” – Carl Jung
Thanks to St. Valentine (and Hallmark), February is a month full of love, romance, big red hearts, and overly-priced chocolate. But for me, February is going to be as much about building out the relationship with myself as it is going to be about writing sonnets to my Charles (though I do plan to get a few of those in!).
Why? Because like all relationships, the one we have with ourselves requires constant work and attention.
How many of you have had a friendship or romantic relationship that somehow got to a dull, unconnected place? You know the feeling, like you suddenly have nothing in common with the person anymore or you don’t really know them. Often, we’ll blame it on them – “they’ve changed, they’re different now, they’re going through a phase.” But what we fail to understand is that while those things might be true, they are true for our side of the table as well. We are constantly evolving, just like everyone around us, although these change tend to happen in small, minute increments making them difficult to realize.
Have you ever gotten to this place with yourself? Where you felt disconnected from your core, or lacking enthusiasm and energy, or just a little Lost? Chances are, you’re at that place because that relationship with yourself hasn’t grown as you’ve changed.
I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t given my relationship with myself the work or attention it needs to keep me confident, self-assured, or feeling an appropriate appreciation for my potential or personal power. Instead of being aware and honoring the changes I’ve made over the last five years, I feel like I’ve been hyper-critical and always focusing on the faults. In my quest to Live Uncommonly I tore a lot of my core down to get to the bottom of what drove my need to quit the Corporate world, but instead of rebuilding I’ve just dug deeper and deeper in a quest to know myself completely. And while I feel like I know much more about who I am, why I’m motivated to do some things instead of others, and how I operate, I feel like the relationship I have with myself is worse than it was five years ago. Ironically, I look at the person in the mirror and catalogue faults, and then wonder what happened to that super-sparkly person I used to be.
I am still that person. I am still Nacie Carson, and my mission for this month is to take a page from Carl Jung and focus my energies on “accepting myself completely.”
Reprinted with permission by Nacie Carson, writer and founder of The Life Uncommon.
So what about you? Where are you in accepting yourself completely? Take a step today to get to know you and let us know what you learn about your brilliant and beautiful self!
Photo Courtesy of Photoxpress © Lev Dolgatshjov
Snippets of Wisdom
On January 26th, 2011, by · Comments
If this blog offered you snippets of wisdom that were concise and powerful, what would this mean to you? What do you consider “wisdom” that would add value as you streamline your life and work to achieve greater impact with less effort?
If you’re like me, you receive an overabundance of information daily. When it comes to meaningful blog content, I want to keep you engaged and coming back for more because your life and work are improving and your contribution to others is greater.
To enhance my service to you, I am curious about your impressions of all of the on-line content you read regularly. What is it about these other blogs and newsletters that has you actually read the content and come back for more?
What are some of the elements these writers include in their communication? Is their content thought provoking? Do they provide practical tips? Are they using other mediums like video and audio?
In addition to these specifics how has your life and work changed because of the on-line content you read? Is there anything you don’t like?
I’m on a mission to bring more value to you. It’s part of my strategy toward the launch of The Leadership Collaborative with my new business partner. While we aren’t ready to go live just yet, what I can share is that our company is about developing leaders to help you in “bringing business to life.”
If your business (or work) were brought to life, and life was brought to your business (or work), what content would offer you value and support you on a consistent basis?
I’d be grateful if you would take the time to share your comments with me at the blog. You can also provide your snippets of wisdom by e-mailing me directly.
Thanks for being a part of my team…T.E.A.M. = Together everyone achieves more!
Photo Courtesy of Photoxpress Sergej Khackimullin
A New Year, A New Word
On January 5th, 2011, by · Comments
I appreciate the positive energy and hope that a new year brings. At the same time, it can be overwhelming to navigate the plethora of information about resolutions, goals, strategies and more. The transition from a year end into a new one can be harsh and abrupt adding unnecessary stress if you’re not careful.
So in this first blog post of the year, I’m keeping it simple….
It’s a new year, so instead of resolutions and a long list of to do’s, how about a new word?
Yes, that’s right. Identify just one word that will guide you throughout 2011!
Consider the impact this one word might have as it engages your heart, connects you to what really matters and guides you in taking purposeful action. Isn’t it time to simplify and bring true and lasting fulfillment, the kind that improves your life and contributes to others in a BIG way?
I want this to be your BEST year ever. You can begin right now when you decide to visit myoneword.org. Make the time to discover your “word” for this new year and let this be your anchor that keeps you centered in your core. If you want additional resources and support, be sure to sign-up for my monthly newsletter.
My word for this year is integration. What’s yours? Post yours at the blog and join as a community so together we can find our sweet spot where we have greater impact with less effort.
Your sweet spot is that place where Frederick Buechner defines as “finding where your great joy and the world’s need intersect and that is most likely where you belong.”
Now’s the time; what are you waiting for?
Picture Source: Book Cover of One Word: Contemporary Writers on the Words They Love or Loathe, Molly McQuade asks the question all writers love to answer: what one word means the most to you, and why?
