Who do you want to be, really?

In the Globe and Mail’s New Year’s edition, new trends in technology were highlighted for 2009. Top of the list? Avatars. Apparently we can anticipate much greater mainstream acceptance of these for 2009. The article goes on to cite a case in Japan wherein a woman is facing charges related to \"murdering\" her husband\'s avatar in an online video game. A British couple is divorcing after a woman caught her partner’s avatar \"cheating\" with another woman’s. I know that the premise behind the rise of the avatar is the novelty of being able to digitally act out your fantasies. The article asks the question: “Who do you want to be, digitally speaking?” I wonder if the couple in Japan would have answered “murderer/murder victim” or the British couple “adulterer/divorcee”.

I wonder also where they’d be if someone had have asked them: “Who do you want to be, really?” How much better off would we all be if we checked in frequently with who we are, how we can be our best selves FOR ourselves and others, where we’re going, and how we can positively impact one another.

In considering this, it reminded me of an article I read a long, LONG time ago about being who you are and living your truth (Daily OM). The idea is that as children, we are our authentic selves and as we age, we move away from that.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful if as adults we tried harder to tap into our authentic selves rather than reasonably drawn facsimiles?

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Pleased to meet you

This painting is called “A tornado of roses”. The inspiration: a blank canvas, a good bottle of wine from McLaren Vale, a free night and our daughter’s [fleeting] love of The Wizard of Oz. And brown, spring green and red.

Painting for just for us is a gift my husband and I have given ourselves over the last couple of years. Neither of us are painters (as you may be able to see) but we love the idea of original work…but don’t have the art budget of Steve Martin.

Like all good gifts, the joy isn’t in the receiving…but in the giving. Yes, we have something that we like on our wall. But the process of painting is where the honey is at. For me, it forces me to trust in the creative instincts of my husband and relinquish my stand-by notion of absolute control. And his instincts? Damn fine. And for me for me? It forces me to trust in my OWN creativity and to be done with defeatist thoughts that link quality outcomes to trained expertise. Not an actual painter? Not an actual problem. This painting is third in our series of “Doing For Us”. We love the process, the product and our daughter takes it for granted that Mommy and Daddy paint for fun (she thinks this one in particular is “beautiful”…but then again she thinks I “sing like an angel” so her artistic senses might not be overly developed at 5 years old).

Art critics, don’t worry…we’d never presume to darken the doorways of a gallery with our oversized canvases and demean the work of those who have suffered for their art. This gift is just for us and our own walls.

Luckily we have several more blank walls in our home; a canvas sale coming up at our local art store; some good red wine waiting; and, a continued love of colour, joy and fun.

Welcome to my blog.

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Check out my free training on the 5 Shifts Our Clients Use to Overcome the Imposter Complex and Grow their Income and their Impact

Where I pull back the curtain on five shifts to start raising voices, rates, and hands all while being the kind, congruent, and authentic leader I know you to be.