who do I think I am

Tags

creativity, culture, idea, lables, Margaret Mead, miscellaneous, motivate, motivator, quote, random, thoughts, work

I was reading an article on how to discover your strengths and a little test at the end supposedly showed you yours. Not really one for tests I took it on a whim and the answer was: I am a motivator. I was a little surprised by the outcome as I do find it hard to motivate myself quite often but seemingly I am good at doing it to others.

As I read more about what this test meant by being a motivator the wider my grin spread, how did they know?  The results told me I would probably never spend a week in silent meditation but liked to work alone. Seemingly I am a good communicator who whats honest but fair feedback, who respects people and dislikes incompetence. I tend to put others before myself and people say I am creative, clever and cheerful. I did have to chuckle as I felt somewhat caught out, yes a week of silence  sounds like tourture to me, I despise dishonesty and I am a bit of a chatterbox. And as I like the sound of the three C’s, so I think I will just believe the test to be true.

The more I thought about what this little test had told me, the more I started to think about who I am, or who I think I am anyway. I do believe I am creative, a writer at heart who doesn’t really want to grow up and enjoys to play, laugh, dance and read. Very loyal to friends and with big dreams. But is that who I am, or how people see me?

We all go through life being labeled by people. First its our parents, siblings and family members. I was always the stubborn one, who did things her own way and was creative and quirky, a storyteller but naughty and cheeky, disobedient at times. Then it’s our friends and teachers who tell us who we are. I was clever but lazy, a talker who included others and was fair, but would also be mean if I disliked someone. At university the courses we take seem to but names on us, quirky, arty, nerdy, smart, caring etc. I think I was arty and quirky. Employers then take a turn and tell you, you are a good teamwork, innovative, creative, slow, late, tardy, unreliable, dependable, helpful etc. As a free-lancer I am all of the above and move … some I probably don’t even know about.

Of course labels can change as do boyfriends, clothes and sometimes even friends but are these labels really who we are, or are we all of what people think we are? I don’t know, but what I do know is that it is Monday morning and I have a whole week too find out if the label motivator really fits.

And as cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said:

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.