Today we’re going to be talking about the final two guideposts in Brené Brown’s book The Gifts of Imperfection. I’ve made some strides in guidepost # 9 and I know I have more work to do in guideposts #10.
Guidepost # 9 Cultivating Meaningful Work
Letting go of Self-Doubt and “Supposed to”
I’ve always been someone who had a gift for digging deep and pushing through. Some might have said this superpower allowed me to persevere and do more, but in reality those behaviors were driven by self doubt, overidentification in my career, and lots of “supposed to.”
When I decided to leave my cushy and very safe union social work position after 15 years with a prominent healthcare organization, I was initially faced with lots of naysayers who had their own fears about the uncertainty of leaving something good enough, for something that I believed would be much more meaningful.
Don’t get me wrong, self-employment can still tap into my self-doubt on occasion, yet the ability to create my own business, with a specialty niche has been profound for my well being. I now get to see growth beyond the initial crisis of a medical setting, and this change has proven to be the most meaningful work I have ever done.
I tipped the scale toward meaningful work at about 65%.
Guidepost #10 Cultivating Laughter, Song, and Dance
Letting Go of Being Cool and “Always in Control”
Well I have to be honest I still need to work more on this. I have struggled to “let loose” and allow laughter and silliness to overtake me. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed dancing, because I think I used to be so fearful of people looking at me just moving to the beat while pretending I actually knew most of the words to the song. I’m kind of like that person who knows the main Chorus, but has absolutely no clue the rest of the words to that hip hop music.
Those of you who carry a high sense of responsibility will resonate with the fact that it is often hard to let go of the intensity and seriousness I once held so tightly to, in order to just be free to dance without any reservation.
So when I took this inventory I scored about 45% with lots of room for improvement. I will have you know, my youngest just turned 21 and for his 21st B-Day we went out to a nightclub where I gave myself permission to just “let loose” and “embrace dance.” I’m happy to report I was able to do this sober as I was the Designated Driver. I had a blast and realized that song, dance and laughter live inside me…I just need to be brave enough to tap into them.
If you are interested in my upcoming October one-day workshop on The Gifts of Imperfection please click here for more information and to register.