I Have a Big, Important Question For You…
Project 365, Day 49
On the heels of this past weekend’s “What’s Your Completely Useless Superpower?” post, which had such a fun comment section, I’m posing another question for you. But first, let me do what I do best: over-explain.
Sometime last week, I had to call the homeowner of a home my company was renting out for a photoshoot. It’s customary to talk through any house rules, figure out where you can park a big furniture truck…that kind of thing. I was familiar with the home, knowing it was designed by Ginny Macdonald (who some of you may know used to work for Emily Henderson, my previous employer), so at the end of the call, I brought up the fact that I knew Ginny worked on the design. The homeowner gushed about Ginny (of course, Ginny is so lovely and immensely talented), and after we grabbed like old girlfriends for about 10 minutes, she said something along the lines of “And you worked for Emily, I’m sure you’re also so talented.”
I immediately tried to backtrack her comment to me but quickly stopped myself. Pushing back a compliment or statement that paints me in a positive, exemplary light is highly uncomfortable. I know I’m not the only one. And not to characterize women as a whole, but I do think we’ve been conditioned to take the stance of humility, even shaking things off like they’re no big deal. “Oh that? That’s nothing.” So instead, in a move that felt almost more uncomfortable than hearing the compliment to begin with, I simply said “Thank you for that,” and we finalized a few logistical things and said our goodbyes. And guess what? I lived to tell the tale. Imagine that.
I’ve been trying to be more cognizant of self-inflicted negativity as of late. It’s so easy to be self-deprecating, it’s far more difficult to stand in the moment and let people give you your flowers. It’s even more difficult to give yourself the flowers. So today, I’m creating the forum for everyone to stand up (and by that I mean, start a comment ha), and write down a handful of things they know they’re really good at. That’s my question today: What are you really good at? Throw those compliments at yourself for once. What are you really good at that maybe you wish more people noticed about you? Or forget other people, just that you want to declare today? I’ll go first:
I’m kind. It’s my biggest guiding principle in life. I don’t believe in being nice. I believe in being kind. They are very different things, and I’m really good at the latter.
I’m an empathetic, nurturing leader. I don’t lead in a traditional way at all, which I think is actually the best part about it. Anytime someone on my team tells me I’m the best boss they’ve ever had, I feel REALLY good, because it’s incredibly important to me. Leader > boss.
I’m a good cook. I regularly put food down and jump to call out things about the meal that aren’t perfect. It makes Charles so angry (for the right reasons). But today, I’ll just sit in the fact that I like the food I cook. It’s not always perfect, but it’s at least mostly yummy.
I can sing. It’s something most people don’t actually know about me because while I do a good job at pretending to be an extrovert, I’m actually pretty shy and I embarrass myself on the regular so I don’t do it. But yeah, I can sing when I really try. Dancing however is a different story. 😉
I was trying to force out a fifth one just because odd numbers feel better than even numbers to me, but I’ll leave it there. I want to here from you. AND DAMNIT DO NOT BE SHY. Tell me. Tell us. Tell yourself. What are you really good at?
See you tomorrow, friends.
P.S. If you or someone you love is in Texas right now, please let me/us know if there’s anything that we can do to help. I’m sure there’s not much besides somehow fix the government and the power grid, but you never know unless you ask.