Admitting You Have Flaws:  Now What?

 

Part 1: A Terrible Past

 

                 If you were alive in the 19^th century, think about the goals you would set for yourself.  Drink more water?  Get in some exercise by moving from side to side as you churn butter?  Free up some time to pursue one of your lifelong dreams like landscape painting?  Surprisingly, these thoughts probably wouldn’t have occurred to the strong independent women and men of that era.  As nasty as it may sound, they were concerned with survival. 

Today, when you hear the word “survival”, you think of surviving such things as stress, an unloved childhood, or an uneaten dessert.  Or perhaps you think of that entertaining television program were real people just like you and me complete for the chance to be famous. But in the past, as hard as it is to believe, women and men of all ages had to survive death itself.  No drugs for disease, little food to cure famine, no psychiatrists or outdoor plumbing and the soap was made from lard. 

 

Patrice Weatherspoon from Topeka, KS had this to say when confronted with this information.

“Living in the 19^th Century sounds awful.  I am going to hug my children tonight.”

 

Only one conclusion can be drawn.  The past must have been filled with ugly bodies, ugly minds, and miserable women and men.  I think if we had photographs we would see how unattractive these people really were.  Luckily in this modern age we have figured out ways to make our bodies healthier, our minds sharper, and most importantly, we possess the medium to transport this information to billions of people worldwide at a reasonable price.

Even as recently as sixty years ago, the subject of self-improvement was relatively non-existent.  Despite their many flaws, the women and men of yesteryear accepted themselves and each other. Perhaps it was because everyone else was in the same rancid little boat.    But as society progressed, the self-improvement of some people exposed the inexcusable flaws found in the rest of us.  With today’s system of grocery stores and gas stations, our minds are free to focus on something more important than survival.  Our self-image. 

 

Part 2:  Pretending To Be Better Than You Actually Are

 

                Can you think of someone that is better than you?  Of course you can.

                Let’s face it, if you are a woman or a man, you are probably overweight or underweight or out of shape.  And even if you are comfortable with your current appearance, most other people are not.  Telling yourself that there isn’t a problem won’t help, will it, Fatty?  This is the first step in self-improvement.  Accepting that you are not perfect.  I can see light bulbs going off!

                No that we are not happy with ourselves, let’s fix it.  First off, identify all of your flaws.  And don’t just focus on your physical flaws, but emotional flaws, too.  Sometimes it’s hard to identify these flaws.  Ask someone else to help you.

 

                “I talked to my husband.  He said that I complain about traffic too much.”

                                                                                                                                                -Janet Winslow

               

                Got all your flaws down?  There are a lot of them, right?  Now, just start going through the list and correcting them.  Here’s a tip.  If you don’t know why you do something, just ask yourself, “Why do I do that?”  Then answer that question.  Then stop doing it. *

 

                *Sometimes this takes weeks.

 

 

Part 3:  If Everyone Was Exceptional

 

                But what if you are too short, not smart, or have personality traits that can’t be changed? 

What if being the best person you can be still isn’t enough?

Well, I guess you are out of luck.  Some people are good enough.  You are not one of them.