Sunday, August 11, 2013
Note 2 Self: Look beyond the mirror to see the vision of yourself that others see of you. ~KARS
Part of the key to truly becoming released and ready is to look beyond the vision of yourself that you see in the mirror and to look at yourself as others see you. Far too often, when we consider anything having to do with ourselves, we always look at situations from our perspective--that means that if it has anything to do with us, we automatically bring our "baggage" with it and factor in our own set of assumptions, background knowledge and back story into the equation.
But all that does in most cases is complicate things--because to be quite honest--most times, when people are dealing with us, they're only dealing with us based on the situation and the circumstances at hand. No one is bringing into play what happened last year, last month or last week. No one is considering any of our past issues, failures, or shortcomings.
Any of those things that are coming into play whenever we deal with people are things that we bring to the situation. (Unless of course we've dealt with a person before and things haven't gone well in the past. For the sake of this piece, I'm talking about a clean slate.)
Many times when we enter a new situation, we immediately self-sabotage it because we bring all of these issues, insecurities and preconceived notions of things that can potentially go wrong--instead of walking into it thinking about all of the possibilities of what can go right.
Try this exercise.
First, look in the mirror and immediately say out loud all of the things that come to mind to describe yourself. Write down your responses.
Secondly, close your eyes and think about yourself in a setting where you are in your "element"--on your "A" game and being successful at what you are meant to do--whatever that may be. With this picture in mind, immediately say out loud all of the things that come to mind to describe yourself. Now write down your responses.
Now compare the two sets of responses. What do you notice about the way that you described yourself when looking at yourself in the mirror? What do you notice about the words you used to describe yourself in your "element" and being successful?
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What this exercise points out is that sometimes we need to step outside of ourselves to really see ourselves--both good points and not so good points. It's always better to gain another perspective when gaining new insights and determining the best way to approach personal and professional growth and development.
The key to becoming released and ready is to understand that you can't continue to remain "stuck" in your own perspective and trapped in your insecurities if you want to become ready to fuel your passion, align with your purpose and build your legacy. Sometimes you have to look beyond the mirror. You just might be pleasantly surprised at what you discover.
Keisha A. Rivers Shorty is a strategist, consultant, speaker and author. She wears two hats-as the founder and Executive Director of The KARS Institute for Learning & Collaboration, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide training, resources and support to nonprofits, community organizations, churches, schools and small businesses--and also the founder and managing consultant of The KARS Group, LTD, which specializes in providing personal and professional strategic development services to small businesses, organizations and individuals. Ms. Rivers Shorty is a grant writer, adjunct instructor, former foundation executive director, educator and administrator. She is a motivational and inspirational speaker and published author. She is currently launching her women's tour "Released & Ready!" in summer 2013 which helps women to fuel their passion, align with their purpose and build their legacy. Find out more about Keisha at www.releasedandready.com or www.karsgroup.com or find her on facebook.
