So, I came away from meeting Bloody Good Chap’s parents with this awesome scarf his mum knitted, so
I think I did ok!
Though whilst we were there discussing crocheting, Bloody Good Mum unlocked her iPad to take a photo of us, and there at the top of her FB feed was my face – with the post I posted about being nervous about meeting BGC’s country parents, and not wanting to swear! Hahaha. Big fail.
Legendary knitting skills though eh – I’m super stoked!
And just in time for this Melbourney week that makes me want to wear multiple scarves at once!
Thanks for all the messages of good luck –
got a whole lot of private good luck messages too, you guys are bloody rad I tell ya! Running Project Self is like having a whole lot of new awesomely kind and complimentary new mates!
I’m always glad to meet you when you comment :D
“Meeting the parents”
again (after a good few years being happily single) brought up strange memories of how I used to behave when I was around former boyfriends’ parents.
It was always a case of serious nerves and serious over analysis – I tried to analyse their behaviour, work out what they wanted from me, and then I tried to combine it with my boyfriend’s description of his parents and then try to chameleon myself into who I thought they would like me to be!
What the hell.
Of course, this kind of chameleonation always went down like a lead balloon. I imagine I came across as all uptight and hard to relate to, because I was all up in my head and not being real.
And no one likes a fake, preoccupied person.
But you know, that’s what most of us do most of the time. Be yourself in a job interview? Pfft. You should lie, definitely lie. Meeting the in-laws? Definitely pretend to be someone you’re not. Going on a date with a new babe? DEFINITELY present yourself as a perfect person with no flaws. Chilled and laid back, but also charismatic and driven, with a side of massively smiley.
Looking back on those days is almost like looking back on another life. Because it really was another life.
My pre-bloody-good-life was lived almost entirely in my mind.
Obsessing over my thoughts and worries about what everyone else thought of me.
I wasn’t really there.
I had no idea who I was, and no one else did either. So no one could relate to me beyond a superficial level, save for a couple of really awesome friends who could see through my bullshit facade.
I remember meeting my brothers and step brother’s girlfriends, and finding it really annoying when they tried to make me like them. The one’s I like the most are always the ones that are comfortable in their own skin.
I love people who are just REAL.
No judgement whatsoever on people (and brother’s girlfriends!) who try hard to fit in, story of my (former) life. I know it’s all down to insecurity and not having the tools to recognise (and ignore) the shit your mind is saying when it’s freaking out.
I totally get it because I used to do it constantly.
Shitttt, they’re not laughing enough, act funnier.
Try to be funny, Andrea, dammit! Ok, now say something about how you used to work for Oxfam so that they know you’re a good person.
Bla bla BLAH! What a big ol’ waste of energy.
But I do wish back then that someone would have shaken me and said “pretending is NOT WORKING!! Stop trying so fricken hard!!”
But of course the problem then would have been – who was I? My mind was so active in my life, I had no clue who I was. Not until I learnt the tools that I teach in Bloody Good Life 101.
So this is your Monday shake –
if you’re pretending to be someone else in any area of your life – with your boss, your in-laws, even your kids or your partner..
STOP THAT SHIT RIGHT NOW! It’s not working, you’re not getting away with it.
If you’re wondering who the hell your real self is anyway, we need to talk.
Book in for a free half hour chat with me,
and check out the new and improved (still under the construction, but getting better by the second!)
