Embracing Your Imperfection
Yep.. that's right, you're imperfect, but guess what, so am I, so are your role models and so is everybody else.
In my last blog post I really just skimmed the surface of how social media, and how we are wired, can set us up to strive for that impossible perfection. I think an important part of releasing ourselves from the weight of that is to identify, acknowledge and embrace our imperfections. This doesn't mean that if a couple of your imperfections are that you're rude and horrible to people that you should embrace them - that's the kind of rubbish you work through sorting out... that's not OK...
We have to accept that we aren't always going to hit the mark, but that wherever we're at we ALL have a lot of good to give - yes, even that horrible girl who's been awful to you for years - she has something good to give too.
Something I have found really interesting and helpful in learning about myself is taking personality tests. There are a load of different types of personality tests but I think one of the most popular and easiest to understand is the Myers Briggs test. If you haven't heard of the Myers Briggs test it's a questionnaire you fill in that then indicates your psychological preferences for how you make decisions and perceive the world. Of course, to get an accurate answer you need to answer honestly, which can be hard. You can take this test online (I would recommend using https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test) and then you can read up on your personality type including how you relate to friends and family, how you might act in the work place, career wise and more. It also highlights some of you strengths and weakness and can be very revealing - I laughed quite a lot at how accurate it was. Sometimes it's really helpful to see some of your tendencies explained, both the good and bad, and why. Obviously there's a bigger variety of character's in the world than 16... these types are just indicators of how we might process things so don't let your answer let you feel like you've been confined to it's assessment, but use the bit that you can agree with and let it help you to assess where you are and what you want to change or work on - knowing why you behave a certain way is really important if you are wanting to change it for good. Lastly on the personality tests, sometimes it can be helpful to let a friend or family member read through the information on your type after the test as they can sometimes see things more clearly than you - it can also help strengthen relationships when we can understand why people behave the way they do, again in the good and the bad.
As we all know, each one of us is on a journey and have different gifts, talents and downfalls, but we often don't know what's really going on with people behind the scenes - so be kind and try and be gracious. The journey itself, like any adventure, can be hard, tough and wild sometimes but there's definitely beauty in it, even if we only see it in hindsight.
(from Pinterest)
Never underestimate the power of vulnerability and humility. Don't be ashamed when you're struggling, don't fear asking for help, admit you're wrong when you need to and don't be too proud to apologise. Some of the strongest people I know let tears flow freely and admit when they're fearful. They're aware of their weaknesses but don't let them define them, and they say sorry when it's right to however hard it is to say.
Remember we're all imperfect, all fighting demons and in the words of High School Musical... we;re all in this together.
Yours faithfully,
Jen x
No comments
Post a Comment