If you have known me for any period of time, you must know that one of my common catch phrases is "I want to be you when I grow up!"  I generally say this when someone does something cool or different.  I'll say it when I meet someone who has the coaching career I want to have.  I'll say it when someone has a great outfit or says something really witty and funny.  I said it today after watching Elizabeth Gilbert give a talk on creativity at TED in September.  I am in the process of reading "Eat, Pray, Love" for the second time so when I saw a link to this talk I really wanted to watch it.  I am probably one of the few folks who didn't see Elizabeth in her appearances on Oprah and I was really curious to hear her voice and just...see her.  See how she carried herself, how she talked.  I have now read her deepest journey twice and I had no idea what she sounded like!  I loved watching her.  I loved her nervous laugh and her voice and the way she carried herself and I thought "wow, I want to be here when I grow up!"  So I said it.  And I got a much needed slap from a friend who said "BE YOURSELF" (in so many words)

I am taking this eCourse right now and one of the things the instructor, Kate  mentioned during a lesson celebrating yourself (more on that later) was that we are reluctant to celebrate ourselves, to affirm ourselves and yet everything we say and do is an affirmation - good or bad our actions and our words affirm a belief that we have.  Despite the fact that I often say it as a joke -- I often affirm that I want to be someone else instead of spending that energy on making ME the person I want to be.  It's unlikely that I will get a book deal to travel the world and write an internationally best selling book but that doesn't mean I can't make this life what I want it to be.  Perhaps putting that energy into making me ME would be much more effective.

One of our assignments from class to make a sign about something we're celebrating about ourselves and take a picture.  I changed up the assignment a little bit.  I wrote on my mirror (and goodness, I hope it comes off!) the following:  I want to be me when I grow up.  And I took a picture.  But as I was preparing to take the picture, I thought of changing my clothes and fixing my hair and and and ...and then I stopped myself and grabbed my camera and took the picture.  I'm as me as I can be in that picture...wearing the race t-shirt from my 2nd and most difficult 5K race in June of 2007.  So that is me -- 37, about to be married and really wanting to fully live my life.  I'm half way there but I'm not fully me yet.  But I'm gonna get there! 

 

Comments

[sarah]

I love this, and I think you look great just as you are in the mirror :)

[linden]

That assignment was tough for me! I put my photo up in the course but, not brave enough to put it out into the "world". You look great!