"What? No it's not," you say. "Look at all the ways people express themselves in music, clothing, hair color, and bumper stickers."
That's not what I call self-discovery. More like identity indoctrination.
Self-discovery is not for the timid.
You will find things you do not like, but cannot change, about yourself. You will like things that you're not supposed to. You will cross boundaries into stereotypes you do not belong, or maybe you will fit comfortably and predictably into an established stereotype and vanish to the public eye.
Congratulations if, when people look at your playlist and raise an eyebrow, you can say "What? I like that music."
Congratulations if, when people look at what you're eating and hold their breath, you can say "What? It's delicious."
Congratulations... and keep it to yourself.
Because when you turn to the person next to you with your latest insight into your personality and say "This is the thing about me" ... they may look interested.... but most of us are just being polite.
I sat at a bar one time and kept a tally of how many times a guy said "that's just how I am, people get upset because they don't understand that."
Really? Good job discovering that you are a rude person by nature.
I'm sure you'll have great success teaching the rest of the world to accept that about you and overcome their own natures to love you just the way you are. INSTEAD of learning to be polite.
It's very important to figure out who you are as a person. But the reward is private.
Your next challenge is to understand the world... not make the world understand you.
Look at it this way: if someone cares, they'll ask. If you find yourself holding public lectures on the inside workings of your own psyche... your audience probably doesn't care.
Just so you know.
1 comment:
I really love this post, Emma - "insightful" without being overbearing LOL - just truth, plain and simple :) Thanks so much for sharing!!
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