In a world that focuses extensively on a person’s qualifications it can be a challenge to separate oneself from that kind of thinking. Oftentimes we define ourselves based on what we can do, who we know, what we have done, and what we have. Certainly, those aspects of our lives are important, but they do not reflect the totality of who we are. Now, you might be wondering what the harm is in thinking of ourselves in terms of what we can do, who we know, what we have done, and what we have, and at first thought, it does not appear that thinking along those lines would be harmful to us in any way. After all, considering our accomplishments can serve to encourage us to accomplish bigger and better things in the future. Reflecting on the people whom we know and how they factor into our lives can help us to ensure that we are not allowing the wrong individuals to occupy valuable space in our lives. And evaluating the abilities that we possess can certainly remind us that we do add special and unique intricacies to this life and the world in which we live. Those are definitely positives as opposed to negatives.
However, the harm surfaces when we begin to solely think of ourselves in those terms, neglecting to take stock in the fact that we are so much more than the sum of the many individual aspects that together constitute who we are and the lives that we lead. Yes, our abilities and personal characteristics make us unique and make it possible for us to accomplish tasks and to see things from perspectives that are unique to us. However, there will be days and times when we do not function at our best, when we discover that our heads are not in the game, our hearts have taken a hiatus, and our strength has momentarily gone on vacation. It is precisely in those moments when we need to remember that no matter what the current state of things is – whether or not everything is going as planned and our abilities are fully present and accounted for – we are still uniquely qualified to do whatever it is that we have been blessed with this life to do. And nothing and no one can change that.
Sanguine Mango 