In a recent blog I wrote about finding your blog’s purpose by asking yourself 5 questions:
- In what situations do you typically shine the brightest?
- When are you moved emotionally?
- When do you find yourself standing up for the “little guy”?
- What thoughts or ideas give you great hope?
- In what situations are you calm while others are freaking out?
So I thought I’d go through each of them one by one in subsequent blogs. Having just gone through this soul-searching process myself, I thought it would be helpful to go through each question individually and share with you my own findings within myself. Might help get you going.
I did this 5 Questions exercise over the course of a week, and kept it as a running document on my phone so I could add to it or change things during that time. I gave it one week to come together. I did not mull over my answers too much, I tried to just put the question out there and see what thoughts came back. Jot things down as they come. Rinse and repeat over the course of a week.
At the end of that week I had spent so much time asking myself questions and then getting really quiet while the answers came back, that I got quite good at listening to what I know now is my highest self guiding me. The tiny voice that knows, I just turned up the volume up on that a little.
I have gotten really good at just floating a question… just letting it hang out there… and listening, feeling for the peace (or the lack thereof) that inevitably bounces back. In many ways that alone has made this 5 Questions journey worth it. I’ve been able to remove the emotion from some of these big questions in life, and approach it from a matter-of-fact kind of place, not fear driven or otherwise.
Here is the answer I arrived at for the first question, “In what situations do you typically shine the brightest?”:
“I am at my best when I am speaking about or doing something that involves self help or care. Exercise, personal struggles, challenges, ways we grow and change. I am a strong networker and I have a knack for uniting people in their humanity.”
The answer to this question in and of itself will not reveal to me the mysterious purpose of my blog, and even though it doesn’t get that deep into things, it reveals plenty, and greatly informs the best purpose for my writing and my teaching.
Once I was hanging out with a friend of mine and we were discussing how I am very much an introvert and she’s an extrovert, but how she and I very much “present” the same; how those two opposite traits can look a lot like each other, depending on what environment each person is placed in.
Traditional thought tells us that an introvert would hate being in front of others, but that isn’t really the case at all for me, at least not where teaching is concerned. Some of the most introverted people can make the most captivating speakers or entertainers. What matters more is the vehicle and whether it suits the person.
I jokingly told her that as an introvert I can only handle being in front of large groups leading classes because I am the one in charge of the vibe, and I control everything. I did mean that as a joke, but I was also very serious. I DO enjoy teaching because I AM the only one talking. It energizes me, that particular vehicle.
As an introvert, not only am I continually giving away energy just by virtue of the fact that I’m an introvert, but because I’m an Emily Brand Introvert, I will willingly empty my entire reserve so the yoga class or the presentation goes great. And I’m happy to, I love to. I’m honored that you chose me to spend this time with. I love being with you in that way.
But, truth: I also love that I’m the only one who gets to talk. Because if you could say things too, I would die of exhaustion in 10 minutes. My energy is zapped instantly when I’m in a bar setting, or a party setting, where everyone is talking. Everyone’s energy is flying around. It literally feels like I am being smacked in the face by it all. I just, I can’t.
But if it’s only me, and you’re looking to me for guidance… to teach you, to help you, to just be there with you, I’ll fall on my sword for you. I’ve done it 100 times.
In high school I dated the son of the Special Ed teacher. He was beloved by everyone, there was no one who didn’t know who he was and there was seemingly no one who had even one negative thing to say about him. I was over at their house one day when he was being interviewed for the local newspaper. The reporter said something about him being a “king among men”, and I’ll never forget his reaction: he laughed a little and he said “I’m no king. I MAKE kings.”
I thought to myself “yessss”. I liked the sound of that.
In the 25 years since, I’ve come to realize that statement resonated with me so powerfully because, just like him, I’m at my best when I’m making kings.
I shine when you shine.
In a great many ways, my purpose is your purpose.
I typically shine my brightest when we’re walking hand in hand through our challenges, you and I.
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