Health & Fitness
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Just because at one point you defined yourself a certain way doesn't mean that's who you are today.
A friend of mine recently introduced me to someone who just moved into the Oak Creek area. My friend told me that she really needed to connect with me because I was so "fun" and "outgoing."
Wait a second! First off, I consider myself to be a tad on the boring side. And second, I would argue that I’m actually a pretty shy person.
Or am I?
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As I told my new friend this story over dinner, I realized that I might just be wrong. If I was so shy, how would I have ended up at dinner with someone I just met, having a cocktail and chatting it up? If I was really that boring, why would she have gone to dinner with me to begin with?
You need to check in with yourself every now and then. Being self-aware is in many ways an action, a choice. Listen to your heart and watch how people react to you. Solicit feedback from people you meet and understand how they perceive you. Make sure the person who people see when they meet for the first time, and who you see when you look in the mirror, is the same person.
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I would venture to guess this is something that comes up especially for young professionals. As you make the transition from college to your first job, and then from that job to the next, you grow as a professional. Your focus changes and your friends change. And you change!
Change is hard! I think it’s in our nature to get stuck. Like the high school athlete who still wears his letter jacket into his 40s, or the aunt who still wears her hair the same way she did in 1982. We decide who we are and we stick to it. Just because at one point you defined yourself a certain way - in my case, shy and boring - that doesn’t mean that’s who you are today.
Just like I am not the same shy little boring girl I was in 1986, I am probably not the person I will be when I’m 40. It’s OK to change - I’d look pretty silly in a Care Bears T-shirt and scrunch socks at 40. And I’d miss out on so much if I limited myself to the label of shy and boring.
So if I ever meet you, I look forward to hearing what your first impressions of me are!
