Choice, Emotions, Mindset, Positive Impact
Shine On Your Spot Now To See Clearly – Connection Creator
Aug
Shine And See
When you shine a light on something, it comes into greater clarity. If you want greater clarity in life, don’t you think it is time to shine your light a bit more?
To shine brighter, you need to know where you are at today. When I look to determine where I am at, I have to assess my thoughts, actions, and feelings. Ignoring any of these leaves you with an incomplete picture. It can cause distortion in you understanding, thus you may misinterpret your position.
Now comes the hard part of the assessment. You may be placing yourself lower than you should be.
A Fair Assessment
I have learned from painful experience that too often we are very hard on ourselves. It is easy to see flaws, but seeing the good in ourselves is often nearly impossible. Perfectionist have a particular problem with this. Take it from me, a recovering perfectionist.
Let me give you a couple activities to complete that may help you.
Activity One
First
- List out five heroes that you have. For this exercise, they need to be real people who are living or have lived. (It could go weird with a comic or movie character. Ancestors can be great heroes if you are looking for someone.)
- Make a list of ten things you find admirable in them.
- List five flaws they had. (They had them, so five is not impossible.)
Second
- List five people who may look at you as a hero. (Be honest, people look up to you.)
- Make a list of ten things they might find admirable in you. (You have them, so look quickly.)
- List five flaws you have. (Stop at five. It is too easy to dump on yourself, so stop it!)
Third
- Do the lists contain anything that is the same?
- Are some of your strengths surprising?
- Are some of your weaknesses similar?
- What are you learning about heroes?
- Is it possible to inspire others despite weaknesses?
- What can you work on today that will improve a strength?
- What can you work on today that will change a weakness to a strength?
This may seem strange, but you are not comparing yourself to others, you are looking for similarities. Look to see what is commendable. Find things to improve. It is not a contest, rather an experiment. You will be able to shine more as you find who you are.
Activity Two
Make a list of 100 things that you have accomplished in your life. Maybe you won a championship on a team or as an individual. Perhaps you can cook an egg sunny side up like no one’s business. Did you give birth to a beautiful baby? Did you finish a home improvement project? Do you have beautiful handwriting? Don’t be shy. List out what you are good at. If nothing else, are you good at breathing? Your list of successes is your list. Make it!
As I look at many of my ancestors, I see them as heroes. Among my heroes, I have a lot of cousins who have done really great things. I look up to them. I also know that they also had faults. Regardless, I find the good I want to emulate. I acknowledge the weaknesses and strive to not act in the same way, or at least to work on changing them if I find them in myself.
Give It A Try And Report
I’d love to hear about your results. You can email, message me, or send me a note from my contact page.
I know that you will find your shining self when you finish these activities. You will be more sure of yourself, and you will have a better idea of where you want to go from where you are today.
Mark Fincher
Chief Mentor and Trainer
Living Tree Connections
