Know Yourself
Ten Things I Like About Myself
Some were a surprise to me

“To know yourself, you must sacrifice the illusion that you already do.”
My niece called to talk about college restarting next month. One of her classes is a classic philosophy 101 type. The same professor taught the freshman-level class with the same syllabus forever.
She knows that one of her assignments will be to determine ten things she likes about herself; they cannot be all spiritual, nor can they all be physical. She asked me to make my list to practice on her list. We worked through my top ten, some of which surprised me.
- I am a good friend. Once I am your friend, I will do my best to help you get through life as unscathed as possible.
- I like my ass. I did not like my big, round butt when I was a kid. Children can be cruel, and they teased me, calling me bubble butt. I only found a proper use for that butt as an adult. It served me well once the rest of me grew to match.
- I don’t cheat, not on my husband, job, other people, or myself. It doesn’t matter if I am the only one who would know that I was cheating. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose.
- I will be the bad guy if it will make a significant difference in the lives of others. Few people are willing to tell others they are too late with their input or that the ship has sailed. I will. I will do so in the best way that suits the situation. The most exciting thing about being the bad guy is it makes others uncomfortable when you do your bad thing. I cannot tell you how many unpleasant situations I have handled to have people come back and tell me I should have “just let the rule-breakers do it.” No, no, I won’t.
- I love that I clean up well enough to stop men dead in their tracks however it takes time and effort. Being a showstopper is a skill.
- I enjoy I can switch to different people as needed. I once went from the head of the PTA to the person interfacing with the fire department for my manufacturing plant, which is currently on fire in 2 minutes.
- I appreciate my genetic package, especially the skin, eyes, and hair. My skin is so soft I don’t like people to touch me. My dark eyes get darker when I experience potent emotions. My hair is a curly weed. With water, it shrinks up into tightly bound cute curls; with blow drying, I get long ringlets.
- I am a great relative: big sister, aunt, niece, or wife. If people could pick relatives, they would like me.
- I love the skill of seeing the big picture without all the data. This skill helped me to be successful in life and work because I see obstacles and liars when others can not.
- I have a wonderful dry but dark sense of humor, which I need if you read the nine things above. I once fell in with the wrong group of people, who would all eventually die doing dreadful things. My dark sense of humor and skill with numbers saved me from becoming a permanent part of that crew. They thought I was not serious, and I wasn’t. I laughed and kept them laughing. They put me out.
So, there they are. I had to cut it down as I had twelve. My niece insisted that it is part of the task to end with exactly ten. The list is the essence of me. Try figuring out the top ten attributes you like about yourself. Like me, you may discover something new about yourself.
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