Introduce Your Character
Write an introduction of yourself as a character…
I said yes. I accepted invitations to take and took the risk of saying yes to whatever interested me in the moment. A first baby stillborn at term shattered my belief that if you follow the rules, you will be OK.
- If I had remained a science teacher my life would have been rich and full.
- If I had never learned Transactional Analysis for classroom management and accidentally become a psychotherapist, I would have had a good life.
- If I hadn’t invited a whole therapeutic community to stop on a cross country move and camp in my basement, I might not have had the opportunity to teach professionals and lecture all over the United states and eventually internationally.
- If I had not been at a professional, I might not have become a feminist. I might never have become an author or a management consultant or a coach. I might never have visited so many different countries or developed a rich spiritual life.
But with my fascination with the world and passion for learning and teaching I kept saying yes and have lived a life richer and fuller than I ever could have imagined.
Of course, getting mixed messages from smart and ambitious parents helped. Marry a nice Jewish boy who would become a rich doctor or lawyer and be a good mother and don’t be a nurse be a doctor conflicted for my obedience.
Promise to graduate from college before you get married. Then be the woman behind the man and support your husband’s achievements. I tried, but it didn’t work out that way.
Most important “don’t be a sheep.” Meaning don’t follow the crowd. Just do your best—that’s all we expect. This was a blessing and a curse. My best turned out to be very good, but not everything is worth that kind of effort.
I followed a conventional path until I didn’t. I stayed as a Senior Girl Scout, traveled the western US with my troop and decided I wanted to live in Colorado. Safe risks and no guarantees! And almost never in a conventional or approved order. Most of my certifications came at the end of rather than the beginning of following where my feet chose to go. Few things were part of any kind of plan and the world has blessed me with unbelievable rich experiences.