Another New Year’s Eve has come and gone and the barrage of articles, TV segments, and commercials have begun to wear me out and wear on my nerves. Most of them are centered on the idea of a new you.
Is that even possible?
Can you be a new you in 2014?
Do you really want to be a new you at all?
All that “new you” hype (I say, propaganda) can really pull you into a negative and self-defeated mindset. During just one commercial break, you are told you need to make your teeth brighter, your butt smaller, and possibly that you need to learn a new language with the help of Rosetta Stone. All those things are good, but a new you? That is a stretch. I know that I could focus in the new year to improve my eating habits, routinely exercise more, read more, pick up a new hobby or focus more on my children; all of these are important as quality of life choices, but I don’t think any of them will make me wholly new.
I bet we could all do a better job at being our {true you} … err … me. Do you know the {true you} inside of you? Do you know the {true you} and the ways you are gifted? Can you even grasp how wonderfully unique you are already? Many can’t. The comparison and judging isn’t only for other’s decisions and abilities; often, we are toughest on ourselves. (Have you ever heard the old line, “you hurt the ones you love the most”?)
So, let’s start with this simple question: How are you gifted?
In your mind, can you fill in this blank with how you are gifted? _____________________________
Was that easy? Or, did you struggle at finding even one way you are uniquely gifted?
What is great is that we each corner the market on how we are uniquely gifted! Maybe you are organized, creative, or funny … or possess one of a gazillion other gifts!
Do you lean into that giftedness, or do you put it aside because it doesn’t seem like a good use of time now that you are so busy or because you have gotten so far away from the person you were before children came along with wet kisses, sleepless nights and immeasurable responsibility? No matter how much you accomplish on your never-ending (and often repetitive) to-do-list, you will still be working against the {true you}.
Yep – that is right, you read that correctly. Like me, I bet you have gotten in your own way of being your {true you}.
Maybe – just maybe – if we each chose to be our {true selves} in 2014, we could find:
- more peace
- more fun
- more community
- more closure
- more honesty
- more resources
- more time
- more enjoyment
- more freedom
- more acceptance of self
- more grace for others
- more vulnerability
- more creativity
- more MORE <—- my favorite!! Unlimited possibilities as you become your {true you}.
So – in 2014, let’s ignore the new you messages and spend some real time working toward our {true selves}!
In my own life, by using my personal gift of planning, I want to create more space to focus on positive and caring living in 2014 to help get to my own {trueness}.
How about you? new you or {true you}?
