Let me start with this: I know this is a hot take. I know not everyone is going to agree with me. But someone has to say it and it might as well be someone who has spent time navigating corporate life, observing everything from {read more}
This is a new one and I am excited to share it with you! In a recent HBR (Harvard Business Review) article, titled, “Have you taken the difficult person test?“, a ‘darker’ personality test for the taking. The article indicates that taking any personality quiz {read more}
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!
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.
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%?
There are four potential results to the quiz:
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 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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Storytime Recently, the childhood memory of playing video games with my brother popped into my mind. He was always able to win faster, I think he understood the cause/effect better than I did. Another memory which comes to mind is trying to learn, by his {read more}
When is the last time you experienced something new? Take a second and really think on it. Potentially as simple as ordering something new from your favorite restaurant, or as big as a new hobby. Or, maybe it has been years since you’ve veered from {read more}
Today’s post is a bit different than most. In brief, it is a reflection exercise. Most likely, this should be done individually or in discussion with a loved one. It may be helpful to have old journals, phone notes or pictures within reach.
Think back 5 years from today. For those reading on the day this is published, that would be Friday, April 8th, 2016. If it wasn’t for ‘on this day’ reminders from our social media platforms, would you remember what you were doing? Do you think back and realize how far you’ve come? How much of what you were doing around that time, has now become second nature? What characteristics of yourself were you only considering developing at that time and now have?
Funny enough, during this time I was on a social media ‘pause’. However, based on my google calendar, this weekend was the Atlantic City Beer and Wine Fest which I was considering attending. As it turns out, I did not attend as hoped. But instead, had a work trip to Nashville to prepare for. My entire life was in such a different place compared to current state. Memory tells me that I was wanting to have every second of every day packed with activities. In addition, I was in the process of finding a different place to live. Honestly, being on the move was a huge comfort at that time. Based on phone pictures, I had flown with work friends to do a leadership seminar with me. Ah, how some things change and other just keep getting better!
Okay, after that, potentially long walk down memory lane, it is time to realize how far you’ve come. And yes, believe me, I know there might be so much further to go, and that’s a good thing! (This blog would not exist if it wasn’t for the fact I want to improve and inspire others to improve every single day).
However, there is a time and a place to give yourself credit. And consider this permission to make that time NOW! That being said, as the northern hemisphere comes out of the winter season and transitions to the Spring season, there is no better time than NOW to give yourself the credit. Allow yourself the moment to truly consider your accomplishments, your growth, any elimination of bad habits and establishment of new ones! After all, when is the last time you gave yourself a round of applause?
Today is just that short and sweet. Realizing, that it my be emotional to go back to Spring of 2016 and remember all the things. In order to keep things simple, I’m purposely not adding additional stories or thoughts of my own.
Much love, xoxo
Rose & Bianca
HAPPY PLACE. My happy place used to be inside an airplane, in the air, above the clouds. I did my best thinking on the plane, my best sleeping on the plane, my best reading on the plane. I once woke up the passenger next to {read more}
Squirrel A lesson in self-realization and the need to embrace perceived flaws. There is only one person in my life whom, I can heartily say, can be as easily distracted as me. The realization of my distracted tendency came only after I met this person. They {read more}
Happy February 1st!
Are you excited to embark on the second month of 2021, fresh faced and bright eyed?! This weekend I wrote out February goals and revisited my 2021 kick-off. After making changes to my vision board, I’ve found there a benefit to make a digital one!
What are some of the things you are most looking forward to in February? My top 4 are:
Originally planning on writing about something different, this post is instead inspired by a conversation with a good friend this past weekend. So thankful to have her in my life for many reasons! We are similar in disposition – goal setting, mostly confident, high achieving women. Our conversations are fluid and we can respectfully disagree while opening our minds and exploring topics.
The story of how we met is rather funny. She loves to exaggerate it more and more each time she tells it. Here is my version:
Our company had gone through a small reorganization, prompting my department to host a global meeting in Amsterdam. While my department would be there all week, her department was simply consulting for an afternoon. Therefore, she was flying from the United States to the Netherlands and back in two days. (I promise this is the non-exaggerated version!)
Because of the changes my department was experiencing, her department was presenting on the principles of change management and continuous improvement. Toward the end of her presentation, she prompted for questions, to which I raised my hand. When she called me, I stood up, introduced myself (probably made a joke) and then said something, “You’ve presented to us all the things we should NOT do, but could you give us some guidelines on what we SHOULD do?” (<– this is the part she loves to exaggerate, every time it makes me laugh.)
Afterward, we had the opportunity to sit next to one another at dinner. It was this point she called me out on my question. This interaction allowed a strong foundation for an honest friendship. We make a great team whenever we work together too! There is something so refreshing about the relationships in which you can truly be your self. We have provided one another a listening ear, tough love (we call it as we see it), support, advice and perspective and most importantly lots of laughter.
This story time brings us to today’s topic: Self Awareness.
My question that day, in beautiful Holland, was intended to focus forward and discuss the positive. However it came across as a critique of the presentation. The setting and tone I used asking it (especially with my east coast accent) calls for a face palm emoji!
Thankfully my (now) dear friend was the only one in the room who did not yet know me. The other folks in the room knew me well enough to understand where the root of the question and were genuinely interested in knowing the answer (even seconding the question). Even though others were interested, I used this experience and her feedback to check myself and reflect on:
Over the years of studying spiritual topics, faith, new-age philosophies and modern thinking, the topic “self-love” is tossed around as almost a solution to every problem. In this particular case, I could have easily told myself, ‘It’s okay rose you did your best and its okay.’ If I had brushed this off and simply given myself a hug, I would missed a huge opportunity for self-awareness and improvement.
Loving yourself is super important but first, KNOWING yourself should be the higher priority. Really being able to look in the mirror and KNOW who is looking back in topics such as core values, typical behaviors, motives. Those HEART type topics that can sometimes be glossed over or easily distracted from if we simply ‘love’ ourselves in our current state.
True self-love only comes about when we face the uncomfortable parts of ourselves and work toward the person we really want to become. Each time we make a better choice we empower ourselves! What you don’t like about yourself you don’t have to accept. You CAN change. One small day, habit, choice at a time.
In addition to planning for the following month, I typically take the time to look back over the previous month and see where I grew as a person. Honestly asking myself, ‘How did I do this month, really?” Hard as it sometimes can be, the long term result of self improvement creates stability and conviction for the foundation of a healthy and deep love for self.
Today, I urge you, to take one small step toward a character trait you are wanting to build or change you are hoping to make. Maybe it is:
Would love to hear both the things you are looking forward to in February AND, if you want to share the one step you will make toward self improvement this month! Please comment below
… would smell just as sweet. William Shakespeare Sweet and soft… still thorny This frequently paraphrased quote (maybe I hear it more than others) comes from an excerpt of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. The common interpretation is: something is not changed by the name it {read more}