Becoming someone

I used to be one of those people who loved personality quizzes, was into the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Enneagram (I have three books on it) and was pretty much magnetized to the psychology/self help section in any bookstore. I was determined to self-improve, to become MORE than I was, to show the world... that I was something special.

But somewhere along the way, I acquired a friend who made fun of my reading, calling it "psychobabble" and "navel-gazing." Then Oprah came along, and the sort of self-helpy things she offered on TV, her professional "experts" who often seemed to turn out to be frauds, and her wacky guests with all the weird problems turned me off even further. Self-help was taking a strange road, and I decided to avoid it.

I guess you could say I developed an aversion to the self-help business, because that's all it suddenly seemed to be. A business, selling stuff. Did all those people, flogging all those books, really care about anything other than the fame and fortune their theories would bring them? The more I read or watched, the less I believed in their visions of who I could become if I followed their suggestions. Soon I began to laugh at the titles of the books on the shelves in the psychology section. Puh-lease!

But recently, I picked up an Enneagram book and looked at it again. It really wasn't so bad; in fact, it reminded me of a few good things that I need to do for myself -- and the people who have to put up with me. I came across my Myers-Briggs test in an old journal, along with the suggestions that came from it -- and they still hold true. So I keep working on my tendencies to procrastinate and not finish what I sta--. And I saw Oprah in The Color Purple, (a wonderful film) and remembered that I liked her acting (and some of her book club recommendations).

Then yesterday, I came upon this video, and laughed delightedly as I recognized the melody, played by "the fabulous Stephane Wrembel." "All of me, why not take alllllll of me?" It showed me how those mostly abandoned self-help books have had their place in the making of me, in my journey of self-discovery. As have many events, courses, places, and people (a few of them, FOOLS). The thing that I've recognized is that, even before I read those books or had those experiences, I was already ENOUGH, and that I am even moreso now through the things I have learned about myself -- and others -- from books, events, courses, places and people who have played their parts in the shaping of all of me. I may not be a rich or famous someone, but honestly, I wouldn't trade my life with any of the rich and famous lives out there! And I know that navel gazing isn't nearly as important as being involved in life.

Who and what has shaped you into the SOMEONE you are? Today, breathe a little thankyou to them and celebrate your journey. And if you like, enjoy this little video as part of that celebration. Cheers!