“To Be Seen For Who You Truly Are”

One of my preferences that has been consistent through my life is a story I love—the story of Cinderella. It has seemed to magically show up at all different stages of my life in many different forms. I don’t know when I was first introduced to it, but I do know that a wise kindergarten teacher of mine knew how much I valued it and somehow managed to get the book for me for Christmas. I vaguely remember her making a comment that led me to believe that she didn’t relate to Cinderella as much as she loved the role of the fairy godmother. That makes so much sense to me now as an adult. The character of the fairy godmother is really a personification of the role she played many times to others. I have vivid memories of her being very task driven. She just showed up that way. That is how she nurtured and it’s who she was. She was consistent in that trait-just like the fairy godmother-and how others responded to that didn’t really ever change that about her; she just kept showing up in that same manner.

As I grew a few years, I remember seeing the animated version of the movie for the first time. I was with several of my family members and again all those around me related to a different character for a different reason. Some of my brothers loved the prince and would create elaborate sword fights in our living room after. That made sense to me because these brothers are strong and fight for what they think is right for them. Some family members imagined being the queen, and others the king. Those are the very family members who love to lead with authority. Once, my sister and I made our own version of a sequel and played the role of the wicked step-sisters turned good. I do love seeing people be nice and enrolling each other for good. Again, it makes sense.

Another more serious developmental stage was as an adult I experienced my first real traumatic and abrupt death of a beloved family member. Ironically, I was watching the play of Cinderella on a video. The message of the story became very clear in that moment and I realized then why this little fairy tale is so important to me. No matter which form this wonderful story has shown up in my life, the one message that I love is the same. I will quote it from the recent Disney movie version: “TO BE SEEN FOR WHO YOU TRULY ARE.” Each version of the story I have experienced has this same message. It seems to whisper in some way, regardless of which character you relate to, “have the courage to be seen for who you truly are.”

Here is the question: how are you able TO BE SEEN FOR WHO YOU TRULY ARE? The answer is with how you view yourself. Will you see yourself and accept your authenticity, or will you abandon that and see yourself as a manufactured version of yourself? It is really up to you. But whichever way you decide to show up for yourself is the way you will portray yourself. It all does start with you.

First know who you are and love it. You can identify one trait in your design and nurture that trait. Grow it, find ways to use it in all situations. Consistently stand in it and use it to draw confidence in yourself. This will lead to your ability to show up that way and let those around you see you for who you are. In my opinion it is one of the strongest types of honesty and vulnerability. You cannot be taken advantage of in this posture because you are not showing up weak. You are showing up in truth and in your own version of integrity. How people react to it and respond to it is not a reflection on you, it is just information.

At Human Art we call this process “finding an anchoring point.” Each design has many consistent traits. Find one that you 100 percent believe about yourself. In the Classroom you can download an anchoring point sheet that has a variety of traits and rate the traits 1 to 5. Start with a trait you scored a 5 on. Here are a few in each design to get you started:

Saturated:

clear thinker
orderly
authoritative

 

Whitened:

loves change
enrolling
flexible

 

Grayed:

meticulous
calm
securely consistent

 

Blackened:

task-oriented
fixer
structured

 

Pick one of these or pick from the list in the Classroom, then step in that space. Use it as a place to anchor yourself and your confidence no matter what is happening around you. Be that for yourself, then you are ready to open up and have the courage TO BE SEEN FOR WHO YOU TRULY ARE.”

And remember everyone is a masterpiece.

Brook

 

*Sign-up to become a member of the Human Art Classroom to download the full “Anchoring Points” worksheet, as well as access all of Human Art: The Original Personality Test’s exclusive content!