I chatted for a few minutes with a young woman at the library yesterday. She was twenty and graduated from high school. Through the few minutes of conversation I learned that she has Aspergers, a type of autism. I also learned that she still lives at home and her greatest aspiration at the moment is to get a job and maybe move out.
The reason I bring this up is . . . the way she talked sounded as if instead of viewing her diagnosis as something to overcome and learn from, she was using it as a wall that prevented her from doing things.
Please don't take this the wrong way, I have two sons on the spectrum and I deal with special needs all the time. I guess the difference is that I tell my kids that they can do more, move beyond their diagnosis and do something amazing with their lives.
How often do we do this in our own lives? How often do we tell someone who is giving us a compliment, or observing something nice about us an excuse and brush it off. How often do we talk about something good we do but add a BUT, or something disqualifying? How often do I tell myself or say that I'm a good storyteller but my grammar stinks? I seem to remember doing this just last week.
What does it take for us to really believe in ourselves? To take a compliment? To speak positively about ourselves? How hard would it be to make a goal to spend just one hour in public, or on social media where we didn't make an excuse or self depreciate ourselves? If we survived that hour, could we do it for three? A day? A week? Maybe even a month?
Hi, My name is Michelle and I'm an author, I am a great storyteller.
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