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Friday, May 21, 2010

Be Who You Are

I used to homeschool my kids.  One of the best elements thereof was how much I learned about myself.  I'm an avid reader and researcher, and one year I was taken with the idea of learning styles -- the concept of how a person learns and how best to teach them.  Much of my research pointed back to basic personality traits.  It was so enlightening!

During my research, I learned something very important about my own personality that had always really bugged me.  It was something I would change if I could.  But, in a book written especially for parents, I learned that this aspect of my personality was completely normal -- just not one that a lot of people talked about or celebrated.

Okay, I'll let you in on what it was; but only for illustrative purposes.  The writer of the book happened to share the same personality trait which made me feel even more validated.  She said that it was not unusual for a person with this trait to hold down five or more careers in a lifetime.  Careers!  Not just jobs.  I had seen myself as a job hopper or as someone who didn't stick to the task for the long haul.  But what I learned was that many people are like me and just desire a change in scenery in the area of their work.  This opened my eyes and gave me so much more perspective into my journey.  I felt like it was okay to be me.

That's my point.  You are who you are.  I'm not saying you and I don't have areas where we need to grow or develop.  We all do.  But, the best place to begin is by accepting ourselves as we were made to be -- the things we really cannot change -- and then move on to develop the best qualities of our own individual personalities by capitalizing on our strengths and learning to make our weaknesses less of a liability.

It all boils down to one simple idea -- you must accept yourself and resist the urge to compare yourself with others.  It's a habit worth cultivating.


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