A few days ago I read this line:
The world needs more people being themselves.
You know, it’s easy to get caught up in wanting to be more like this person or wishing to be more like that person. It’s easy to think, if only I could be like that slicer. Or if only I could be that kind of parent. I think we spend too much time comparing ourselves to other people. The thing is the world doesn’t need another teacher like the one across the hall. The world doesn’t need another person just like your totally cool best friend. What the world needs is you.
I’ve decided to spend all that time and energy into become the best possible version of me. Nothing good comes from comparing myself to other people. There is always going to be someone I wish I could teach like. There will always be someone I wish I could write like. There will always be someone I wish I could organize like. I don’t have the energy for it. I’m just going to be me instead.
So what do you say? Will you join me in being yourself? The world needs you.
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This is an important sentiment to remember in this season of no-budget, pink slips flying, teachers stepping up to plates they never thought they’d hold a bat at.
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Such timely words. Thank you for the reminder.
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“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”
— Martha Graham
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Boy did I need to hear these words–thank you. This is powerfully written and something that I think we all need to consider. I may have to share this one with others.
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Being the best me – I appreciate your post. I know in my mind I wish to be a better writer like you and others. The SOL challenge has allowed me time to practice and reflect.
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I find this is getting easier as I get older. Now I tend to wonder what I can learn from another person and how what I learn might make me a better person – not different. Thanks for reminding me of this today.
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This is a great post! I agree that we need to work on being ourselves. God is creative that He made us all unique and no two people are the same!
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Thanks for these words to live by, stars to steer by. At my tender age (ahem) I find myself looking at other women and thinking about them. I was telling a friend this afternoon that I used to study others and hold myself up next to them for comparison.
Now I look at women my age and older, and wonder if I’ll be like them as I get older. Will I need oxygen or a cane like the woman at the doctor’s? Will I have a long gray ponytail like the woman in the Post Office? Will I ever write a novel like X, Y, and Z?
Funny how the prism has changed for me. But even now the advice to just be yourself, could also be construed to just worry about the who you can control: yourself.
And finally, many many thanks to you and Stacey (who I know if off, but I just saw her post up there) for starting this wonderful adventure!!
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I find it hard to believe that it’s almost over. I’ve loved every bit, & found your postings succinct & meaning-filled, every time. Thanks for the inspirational words today, & for March!
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True words well written Ruth. And a message we want to portray to our students.
As we wrap another season of slicing, I want to say you did a WONDERFUL job of hosting. I liked the “how to” info, encouraging slicers to go back and read us later time zone/late in day posters, and your slices each day. It was, again, a great learning experience.
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My elementary school gym teacher signed my yearbook in fourth grade and wrote something so simple, yet so poignant that it literally stuck with me for all of these years. He wrote, “Be yourself always.” Now, perhaps it’s because I never followed instructions when I was told to run a mile in gym (I walked.), but I think that was some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten. Clear, concise, and meaningful. Words to live by.
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It is not always easy to stay connected to who I am, but I have to say that the Slice of Life Challenge this year definitely nudged me a whole lot closer to really knowing me than I where I was at the end of February. Thank you for the words and forum that allowed me to rebuild my connection to self and my confidence and inspire me to continue growing in that direction!
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I got a card from my cousin Sharon after she started reading my blog. She knows I’m a Peanuts fan, and the card says, “Be yourself. No one can ever tell you you’re doing it wrong!”–Snoopy
You’ve already figured that out, Ruth, now you can concentrate of you and making you the best whatever!!!
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I’m completely agree! It takes too much effort to be someone you are not! Enjoy, cherish, and embrace who YOU are! That’s what makes life fun! Thanks for sharing these powerful words and your interpretation. Here’s to being the best you!
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Inspiring…spend all that time and energy into becoming the best possible version of me. That’s a motto.
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