Look at me!

An interesting workshop this week, which had me asking myself - just how DO I see myself? There are good bits, neutral bits, uncomfortable bits to that. Some are about my appearance, in terms of clothing and so on. Some are about how well (or not!) I look after my body.

And some, we noticed, are about what sort of person we see ourselves as. I'm a nice guy, encouraging, a bit of a bore about history at times, inclined to ramble when I feel insecure. These things too get projected outwards and picked up by our audience. A feedback loop gets started and the whole thing becomes a fixture.

What I realised was twofold: firstly, your image can seem very "struck in stone", but actually, it's surprisingly simple to change. You just need to choose to, and then you can take the practical steps - go to the gym, ride your bike, get new jeans, get up 20 minutes earlier so you can do a little yoga before breakfast.

And secondly, the same goes for the "what sort of person I am" stuff. For example, I recently realised I tend to tell stories instead of engaging in conversations on a personal level. Now, stories are fun and interesting, but not when you keep hearing the same ones over and over. Choosing to stop Being A Raconteur was a bit of a wrench at the time, but once I'd chosen, the practical steps were surprisingly easy. Like, er, listening to people, and thinking of something of myself to contribute to conversations. How cool is that!

Mark Lister

Edinburgh Life Club

Add Post To: | | | | | | | | |