Embracing who you truly are
Welcome back fam! I’m going to get straight to the point: for the longest time I forced myself to be someone I wasn’t. Instead of embracing the delicate, soft parts of myself; I showed the world only my thorns.
Randomly finding this little quiz on Instagram, I thought the results were interesting enough to share. For those of you who have known me for a long time, the results may be surprising. However, I do see truth in them, and that is why I wanted to share with you today!
Who is the person in the mirror?
Through the conditioning of society and I suppose the examples around me, I became a version of myself I didn’t even recognize. This version of myself put value in the “hustle” culture and felt better only when constantly achieving. While there are positive attributes to a sense of urgency and pushing yourself; finding authenticity (I now realize) is much more important.
After years of sacrificing the places and things that truly made me happy in search for achievement; I have finally learned to embrace my authentic self. To be honest, as I write this, I couldn’t even tell you what the heck I was exactly ‘searching’ for. It is sad to realize how far I’ve strayed away from who I really am for what I don’t even know!
But, I’m not a dweller in self-pity or regret, so let’s get to the happy part of this post! This is for anyone regardless of how far you feel apart from who you truly are. Maybe you have never strayed from who yourself or you might feel comfortable expressing your true feelings; or maybe you are on the path back to yourself. Along the journey is is important to check-in with the reflection in the mirror.
Quiz
Whether it be the Myers Briggs or an online quiz, I don’t put too much stock in them, however I do believe it is a way to explore who you are. In any of these personality type tests, it is fun to determine how close to reality you think it is, and discuss it with others. In fact, I’d love your feedback on how this quiz rated me versus your perception of me!
First, if you want to take the quiz, the link is below. It oddly starts out at 11% … I tried to figure out if I was missing the first question, but from everything I could tell it just starts out not at 0%?
The four characters of the brain (according to Dr. Jill)
There are four potential results to the quiz:
- Left Thinking
- Left Emotion
- Right Emotion
- Right Thinking
About Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
The person who created this quiz, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, is a neuroscientist. In 1996 she experienced a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain causing her to lose the ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Her memoir, My Stroke of Insight, documenting her experience with stroke and eight-year recovery, spent 63 weeks on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list and is still routinely the #1 book about stroke on Amazon. In 2008, Dr. Jill was chosen as one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and was the premiere guest on Oprah Winfrey’s “Soul Series” webcast.
My results
My results were not a surprise to me. If I had taken this same quiz even 3 years ago I would have been a little more surprised, and 10 years ago I would have said absolutely not. It just goes to show how much a person can change, and be more authentic!
Right Thinking Dominant: “Delighting in the bliss of being alive.”
Storytime
Sadly, there was a time when I would have scoffed at the softness this description evokes. A time when I would have denied this description of myself and acted tough and cold on the exterior. How silly it was to deny who I really am.
Youth in a city
Funny enough though, as far back as I can remember I was bouncing around with my dog outside, enjoying the sights and sounds of the odd acreage where we lived. Always exploring and seeking peace, even when I lived in Philadelphia. I used to sit outside the Philadelphia Art Museum in the gazebo which used to be part of the old waterworks and watch the Schuylkill River flow past.
Sometimes it takes a broken bone
With a forever longing to be still and at peace, but not allowing myself these two things could occur at the same time; my life was a jumble of striving for something that doesn’t exist. Granted I would find flow in the mindfulness of horseback riding. In a way I suppose that was the first activity where I learned the calmness of confidence and assuredness of small moments. It wasn’t until a few bone breaks requiring me to be still for long periods that I learned the peace of just breathing. Taking in the nature I could see through the window and enjoying memories of experiences past.
Embracing who I am
Thankfully today, I can say I embrace this as who I am. I love my body, my soul and the beautiful earth we live on. The universe fascinates me and I revel in the beauty of the birds and flowers. Sometimes I find myself observing a tree for long periods of time and just being so thankful for its shade, sturdiness and ability to give us oxygen. I’ll admit now that I hug my huggable plants and tell the others how gorgeous they are before sleeping.
Connect
If you decide to take the quiz, I’d love to hear if you agree with the results! If you know me in person, please let me know if my results are something you agree with. And, if you are open to sharing… is there a part of your authentic self that you push down or keep hidden from others (like I used to?)?
I can’t wait to hear from you all!