My father’s side of the family felt that self-help books and tips were for losers. If you couldn’t learn it intuitively, be good at it instantly, or go from okay-to-great at it in a short period, it wasn’t worth your time. You didn’t need “some hack” telling you what worked for him- those people just wanted to lie to you to get your money.
Recognizing what I want to be great at, willing to learn from others, and welcoming the failures along the journey have opened up infinite possibilities for me.
-Tianna Morison
Needless to say, a lot of my father’s family were great at a lot of things, highly creative, and could figure out most stuff on their own. They could also be very arrogant, cynical, and lack people skills: the downfalls of being extremely smart.
As a result, I felt I had to be good at something. I was looking for my “prodigy moment”- that talent I would discover while young and be instantly great at! It was an arrogant and misguided viewpoint and led to a lot of disappointment.
Now, nearing 40, I know that I don’t know everything. I think this is me reaching a sort of wisdom. Recognizing what I want to be great at, willing to learn from others, and welcoming the failures along the journey have opened up infinite possibilities for me.
All of the above seems so simple but it was a hard road to come to those realizations and EMBRACE them.
I’ve read a lot of memoirs and self-help books lately and they are full of great viewpoints! These people are opening up discussions in my brain, have me questioning things I know, and helping me see new perspectives. I love learning and realize I don’t need to be in a classroom to do so: if I don’t agree 100% with all I am reading, that opens up more learning.
So…. what have I been reading? The Year of Less, Soulful Simplicity and The One Thing are the last three that I’ve read.
Any further recommendations for my brain, heart, or soul to gobble up and digest?
I’m finally open to learning, hearing, and understanding other viewpoints, completely. It’s placed in me a feeling of calm and wonder that I thought I’d lost when I was eight years old. Magic. 🙂
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