...across the room for a reality check.....

Have you ever met someone and wondered what the person is REALLY like underneath all the mindless chit chat we so often engage in?  What do we strive for in our lives?  What kind of person do we want to be and who are we really?

I am making an honest effort to be careful about suggesting books to people that they may not be ready to read.  When I read something that grabs me I just want to share that treasure with everyone I know but I have found that I have to be ready for every message I get for it to really speak to me and quite possibly you are the same.  And so it was with the book I've just opened as my next read.  It was a gift from one of my daughters awhile back, I did look at it but wasn't ready to read it yet.  I never just open a book to page one and get going.  I "shop" the pages.  When I am out shopping for something in particular I may find something I really like almost immediately but my personality is such that I absolutely HAVE to check out other stores to make sure there isn't something even better.  I'm glad I shopped this book because in the back pages I found a discussion guide with questions for coaching and conversation.  I've only read the intro and first chapter and was glad I had read the first few questions so I could think about them as I read.  There are four "headings" in this section.  They are 1.  Being   2.  Real   3.  Engages the   4.  World

So these are some of the questions under the first heading:

WHO do you want to be now?

What  is CREATING who you are? 

What DISTRACTS you from being all you can be?

 

Under the second heading is another set of questions including:

How much of who you are now is who you WANT to be?

What is going on in you and through you that you are not proud of?

What would have to change in order for you to be more real?

What is the best version of yourself and how often do you see it?

I think these are great questions unless you prefer to never allow people to see you as you really are.  Honestly, I want to be an open book ALL THE TIME.  I do not want to waste time and energy pulling the wool over people's eyes to get them to see me as a different person from what I really am.  I know.  It's risky business.  At least it feels risky to me sometimes.  I get strange looks from people sometimes when I speak my mind.  Even better is when people "gently" and "diplomatically" try to "teach" me.  At times I can laugh about that but sometimes it is hurtful.  I would still rather have that than pretence any day.  I know, I know.  I'm off on a tangent here but this is what was going through my mind.  I'm going back, to ponder those questions and yes, next time I may very well tell you what I'm reading!!  But for now, I will just leave you with the questions in case you want to walk across the room to talk about those.....