“Soulistic” Selfies

Monday Reflection Prompt

When we constantly see ourselves, how do we see personal growth? Do we take “selfies of our soul”? How can we do that? One way I do it is to write and share. I look at the feedback I get from people I trust to be honest with me. I think we can be our own worst critics. We see the distance to go instead of turning around and seeing how far we have come. I take that input and I humbly pat myself on the back and get back to work. I also have read old posts that I have submitted and look at the depth of the dive I took in my writing. I look at the subject of those dives. I have at times said to myself “I don’t believe I brought that up”.

It is not just in the articles that I write. It is also in the feedback that I give. I sometimes expose more of myself in a response than I do in an article. I do that because the author has sparked a nerve or I shared a vulnerability with them to let them know they are not alone or unique in having that happen or feeling that way. I push to be as genuine as I can in the moment when I do that. I also see in doing that that it is not always a linear path. Often times it is more of a dance a couple steps forward and a few steps back.

I measure my personal growth in what I am comfortable sharing. I measure my personal growth in not feeling pain or feeling reduced pain when someone’s story resonates with something that has happened in my past. Joseph mentioned an accident with a paint brush last week in an article. It caused me to remember back to my youth about being yelled at from dripping paint on the floor. Just a memory that popped up but a painless one.

I measure my personal growth by noticing when I feel agitated in traffic. It now registers when it happens. I self-talk. You just lost your patience. This is a lesson in patience. You are going to get where you are going. I calm down quicker. I measure my growth in proactively being positive with people. I enter the gym thinking smile, make a positive comment to the person at the desk. I get in line to check out at the grocery store and proactively think of something cheerful to say or to make a joke. To thank them for being there.

I know I have grown as a person because you tell me I have. I know I have grown as a person because much more often I am responding to situations with conscious thought rather than reacting to them. I know I am growing as a person because I am daily looking for beauty in a sunrise or sunset. I look at the impact I am having on other people in my life instead of just being worried about me.