For freshman orientation week at college (quite a few years ago), my school took us all to the Museum of Fine Arts for an evening. One set of paintings that really caught my attention was a series of painted frames for flat grey nonrelfective "mirrors". The point of these pieces was to encourage you to explore how your imagined reflection changed from frame to frame...in other words, how the context changed your self image.
Today's homework is to spend a few moments exploring how the "frames" below change the way you see yourself. You can do this in your head or by writing down a few words for how each makes you see yourself (in a journal, a scrap of paper, or as a post). And please share which of these makes you see yourself in the most positive light, and why!
1. Friend
2. Spouse/SO
3. Patient
4. Caretaker/Parent
5. Employee/Career
6. Woman/Man
Enjoy!
alli
Spring goals: 1. Train for the MS bike ride 2. Try being a localvore. 3. Do something outdoors every day
Posts: 710 | Location: Jersey Shore, USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
1. Friend - I am caring and funny and I tend to provide good counsel to people in need of it.
2. Spouse/SO - N/A
3. Patient - I recently had the experience of being a patient in the emergency room for 4 long hours 2 weeks ago when I was going through the worst of my bronchitis. I was insistent about being comfortable because I had the chills (i.e., requested a blanket), but I was otherwise a very patient patient. I did not bug the nurses every time they came near, though I wanted to--I just bided my time.
4. Caretaker/Parent - N/A.
5. Employee/Career - I'd say this is where I usually see myself most positively. My career, especially in the past 10-15 years, has been very successful and I have had a lot of great feelings around it (some bad ones too, of course, like stress and frustration, but it usually balances out). I am very competent, organized and in charge when it comes to my career. I have a lot of responsibility in my job and generally handle it well.
6. Woman/Man - I have always struggled with my identity as a woman, I think, because I have so long struggled with self esteem about my appearance. I'm unusually short (4'6") and have been at least chubby nearly my entire 55 years on the planet. While I can look in the mirror, at age 55, and say "Hey kid, you're lookin' good today!", I still feel some inadequacies around being/looking sexy or attractive to men. I also think that my being born unable to have children has affected my self esteem as a woman because so many people (especially other women) seem to place SO much importance on giving birth.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7122 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
As a friend, I see myself as....smart. Experienced. Knowledgeable.
As a SO, I see myself as....nurturing. Caring. Caretaking.
As a patient, I see myself as...submissive. Questioning.
As a caretaker/parent, I see myself as...un-emotional. Hovering. (I know those two together probably only make sense in my head)
As an employee, I see myself as...underappreciated. Undervalued. Constantly working harder and more.
As a woman, I see myself as...a letdown. What NOT to do. Not living up to society's expectations.
Erm...I'm guessing the "woman" isn't my most positive. Strangely, "friend" is. I say strangely, because some things have gotten me thinking lately, about how I feel I have so few "real" friends but so many people seem to latch on to me. It feels one-sided a lot of the time...as in, I'm the friend, and they're the recipient of my friendship, but I don't really want it in return because I don't like them enough, or approve of their life (I know that sounds judgemental), or want to be in their vortex of drama.
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
I'm having a really hard time identifying which one makes me feel the most positive. In all roles I think there are some great positives. My first inclination though was to say spouse or parent but honestly, I think "woman" would be first.
Here are the words that first came to mind:
1. Friend - supportive, funny
2. Spouse/SO - centered/balanced, attractive
3. Patient - vulnerable (which really is a positive for me because I rarely show that side and I think it's valuable for my family to see how much I need them), resillient
4. Caretaker/Parent - love, needed
5. Employee/Career - competent, smart
6. Woman - strong, confident
Really cool HW Alli. Thanks!
summer 7 challenge goals: - Meditate every day - Start the day with positive imagery and self talk Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
