The first journal prompt in my book has to do with how you introduce yourself to someone. What verbs do you use... "I am" or "I work"... and yes, I do that. I've played around with some other identifying factors, but I seem to always come back to something that I want people to hear.
Much of how I introduce myself does depend on who my "audience" is, and whether or not they are interested in me or just going through the motions of polite conversation. There are so many sub-worlds in our lives that our opening conversations must change to fit each of them.
One program that I was working with encouraged us to perfect our "elevator pitch" and I have yet to do that. You have only three minutes to sell yourself to the other person, and I've noticed that I am too willing to meld myself to meet another's needs if I can, instead of the other way around.
This leaves me thinking about the directions that I would like to go in the coming year. The changes in the past few years have been very difficult, and yet change is what I was searching for just a few years ago. Learning the hard lesson of be careful what you ask for, I have learned to phrase my needs much more clearly and to the point. Choosing a word of the year has been an enlightening experience for me, and I have learned a lot about my self. You don't always get what you want right away, or in the way you think you want it, but you do get the lessons you need to learn. I have achieved the focus that I wanted years ago, and now I need to narrow that focus just a bit more, concentrate on "finishing" as I had hoped I would learn (was that the word from 4 or 5 years ago?). I have learned to be "efficient", and then "effective and efficient", as busy work is just that.... busy work. Unless it is getting you somewhere, it is useless.
I'm not sure what other words I picked in the past, and this post has deviated so far from the prompt, but it all goes back to the "who" of who am I.
I am a fiber artist, engaging in exploration of needle arts and fine garment construction. I am a friend, mother, grandmother, sister, cousin. I am a city girl in search of culture, fine arts and wonderful food experiences.
Now how is that for an introduction? It just might hold up for the year. I guess we'll see
