The real you is probably a lot more interesting than you think.
Think twice before posturing are trying to be something bigger or better than you think you are. Life, after all, is not a performance. More often than not, when you let down the barriers and let other people see who you are, you will shine brighter than when you are trying to please or fit it or impress. That’s what this 40-something woman found.
“I used to think I had to be brighter, wittier or more “charming”…whatever that meant. Instead I felt I was awkward and clumsy in social settings in my twenties. A few people commented on my positive energy or grace but I just didn’t feel it. As I got older and stop trying to act like something I wasn’t and started caring less what other people thought, I think I started to engage more naturally with other people. I was just me getting on with doing what I was interested in and being interested in other people. Weird thing is that the compliment I always fantasized about getting when I was younger — that I could walk into a room (a la Grace Kelly in my 20-something mind) and change the energy with elegance and ease — someone actually gave me 20-some years later. It made me wonder if I had it all along. Just imagine if 20-somethings knew the power they could have if they didn’t worry about what they have! Maybe what we don’t know is that we do all have an X-factor. We just grow into it more when we start liking ourselves.” – 40-something, marketing, Cincinnati, Ohio