Monday, May 28, 2007

Makeover Monday: pretend you're the person you wish you were.... or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb known as my life

Ah, I actually missed Monday by 2 hours. So sorry folks. You know how holidays can be...... You think you can get so much done since you are going to have this magic holiday to do it in, then the day arrives and you really don't feel like being productive and it takes most of the day just to get the fire lit under your tush and get going.
Then you are up until 2 in the morning organizing your storage unit and thinking you really should go to sleep, but you missed Monday, and all the people will be so sad!

Thoughts I've been thinking:

I'm still on the fence about following up to my makeover-nesses. I promise to keep you posted on my final decision.

I've been stuck on something that Suze Orman (of all people) said, and which tends to get breezed over in her ponderous list of suggestions. Something along the lines of don't wait to be wealthy to behave like a wealthy person. She doesn't mean spend money you don't have.. She means start being generous with what you have now, because as you slowly accumulate money and life experiences, there won't magically come a day when you think to yourself, "Oh, I guess I have enough for myself now. I will start giving to others today..."

Something like that. My interpretations (at 2 am) are not so reliable.

So that gets me thinking. Can I behave like the person I want to be, even if I've not totally arrived in every way yet? I largely mean taking the risk of looking like a complete inadequate idiot who is pretending that she's not (an idiot) and only feebly hopes she's fooling anybody.

More specifically:

I want to be the sort of person who thinks ahead and is prepared. When I remember to think ahead I will prepare as though I were good at it, even though I'm not. And when I don't remember to think ahead, I will try not to beat myself up over it, and just deal with being without whatever it is that I wish I had prepared... while reminding myself that it's obviously time to start thinking ahead again.

I want to be an enthusiastic person. When this thought occurs to me I will initiate passionate conversations with hapless acquaintances.... at the risk of appearing to have multiple personalities.... because the other 99% of the time I'm the silent sort of shy.

I want to be the sort of person who is always reading something. Unfortunately this thought slips my mind a lot and I always have half a dozen half-read books hiding from me around the house. Sadly, a mobile baby = extremely limited reading opportunities. But when I remember I will become a reading fiend! (If only for a short spell)

So when it occurs to me that I wish I had a certain attribute, I must pretend I have always had it and try to trick myself into ingraining it into myself.....immediately. Because I'm not going to wake up one day and find I've accidentally become perfect. No arriving overnight in this life, so why not start now?

4 comments:

Deena said...

"No arriving overnight in this life, so why not start now?"

I totally agree. It's a total process. I need to do the same thing. I had a roommate that lived by the idea of "fake it 'til you make it." Sounds similar but far less eloquent than your makeover for this week.

aLi said...

Wow. That's profound. I've never thought about that from your perspective . I am impressed and once again inspired by Em. Way to go!!!

hairyshoefairy said...

I loved this post. Thank you for writing it.

samunwritten said...

Definitely know the feeling. I feel like many of the things I want to be, I know I used to be, but I think I am no longer.
At the same time, I know I am some of the things I always wished I was.
That's just life I guess.

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