Circumstances can cause you to question who you are.
A boss writes you a stinging performance review.
A reader leaves a bitter comment on your blog post.
A vocal audience member questions your authority in the middle of your presentation.
A publisher sends back your treasured manuscript with a crass note.
A spouse berates your manhood, or womanhood.And you go from You, The Champion of the World, to
You, less than.
You, squashed.
You, angry and off-balance.
You, the misfit.- Hugh MacLeod (via)
I was reminded of that post from Hugh when talking to a rad colleague of mine a few months ago. We were talking about the difference between being guarded and being genuine – and if one could be both at the same time. My answer was no. To me, guarding oneself implies keeping part of you at bay. You, less than.
You, less than, is a lie.
Some may argue it to be true. After all, the part you are showing is 100% genuine. But 100% of your 70% is not fully you. Being genuine is being 100% you – weird freckles, strange habits, amazing talents and all.
Time to drop the excuse of why you’re you, less than. You were designed to be you, more than.
Pick of the post: Toni Braxton – Make My Heart (official music video)
4 comments
Devin says:
June 8, 2010 at 3:42 am (UTC -7)
if “100%=me”,
and I want to be “> me”.
That means I have to be 100% more than myself which leads to Concentrated Me!
I don’t know if people can handle concentrated me!
HAHAH…
I fully agree with you Corker, and that if you are able to be 100% you (or more), you will also appreciate and understand other people being 100%.
Andre Malan says:
June 11, 2010 at 10:17 am (UTC -7)
I don’t think that anyone has the ability to be at their maximum all of the time. I’m me, less than because I’m human. Surely pretending to be anything more than that is the lie, not the other way around?
Matt Corker says:
June 17, 2010 at 1:43 pm (UTC -7)
Good point. You, less than doesn’t mean you have to be performing to your maximum all the time though. That’d be tiring!
You, less than is more about believing that something less than your true potential is all you are capable of. Hence why you, less than is a lie.
Andy Pels says:
October 19, 2010 at 8:32 pm (UTC -7)
I agree if you mean that the “you, less than” lie is one you tell yourself, while the phrase poetically describes the *feeling* we can get when we allow ourselves to be deflated.
(the excerpt you use is actually from a post by a Hugh MacLeod guest blogger named Pamela Slim.)