Self-Improvement Day 2: Setting Values

Embarking on Day 2 of the “Live in the Grey” Self-Improvement Challenge*, I set some values in a typical-Christina way: by expressing them as fears.

In positive news, I’ve had tons of inspiration to work with this afternoon, leading me to post two new blogs. In negative news, that means I’ve left my self improvement blog on the sidelines, and thus have to finish it into the late hours.

Write down your values:

This challenge asks me to articulate what I aspire to in life, then share with a friend and invite them to share three of their values. Anonymous reader, I invite you to be my friend for this exercise.

On my end, I’d like to share my fears, because I think they express a better insight into what I value.

I am afraid of…

  • Cockroaches
  • Getting my foot/body stuck in small places
  • The kids who play in the parking lot of my apartment (they are all silently judging me)
  • Justified honks on the highway (sorry I cut you off!)
  • Colleagues finding out how weird I am
  • Parties where I’m forced to make small talk with my husband’s engineering coworkers
  • Being killed because I flipped off a man who honked at me while I was running
  • Dying before I’ve accomplished anything meaningful
  • Treating my friends poorly out of blindness to my own faults
  • Being jealous of other people’s success instead of actively pursuing my dreams
  • Being so afraid of the hard work it takes to reach my potential that I settle for something less than I could have achieved

I’m afraid of many more things, if I’m honest, but I’ll stop here. Some of these seem silly, but I think they all translate into life values for me:

  • Living in a world where bugs don’t touch me (ok there’s really no way not to be silly on this one)
  • Being stuck in something too small for me (clothes, relationships, job position, etc.)
  • Having control over what others think about me (this may be too ambitious)
  • The ability to justify my mistakes, even to strangers on the highway (don’t we all want a final say?)
  • Freedom to be myself without apology (ok getting more serious here… I’m gonna quit with the parentheses).
  • Meeting people who enhance my comprehension of life and its diversity
  • Living in a world where men don’t catcall and comment on my body without warrant
  • Living up to my potential
  • Being kind to those who love me while being honest about who I am
  • Actively pursing my dreams and celebrating others who do the same
  • Working hard to pursue my dreams and refusing to take a more settled path, just because it’s easier.

This may be too deep a topic for me, given my eyes are drooping and it’s time for bed, but I made a goal to write my self improvement blogs, and gosh darnit, I’m going to post one every single day for an entire week. But I didn’t promise not to edit it in the morning…

 

View Day 1’s Blog: Giving Thanks

View Day 3’s Blog: Fears & Something New

*Take the Self-Improvement Challenge yourself @ Live in the Grey

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