Kick away, not tick away at, the boxes
"Hi, I'm Medhā, and I am an ESFJ. My enneagram type is 2, with a 1 wing and 4 for growth. My DiSC style is yada, yada, yada, splat."
It's not uncommon to see people inserting their MBTI 4-letter personality type into their Tinder, Bumble or networking profile, just so that it seems easier to (a) provide a quick summary of yourself and (b) not waste the potential swiper's time building up to what may essentially be a tak match situation. Some may even liken the MBTI to horoscopes and self-fulling prophesies where of course, mercury is in retrograde and I've been having a shitty month.
This week, I'm thinking that since we have all the time in the world (to work from home, take a rest, and stay away from crowded malls), we could possibly use the findings of these dipstick personality tests as a means to kickstart self-reflection. Build up your self awareness. It's more than okay to reject some generalisations because it doesn't resonate with who you have become. Acknowledge who you are. There is so much more to you, my friend, to own your space without the need for tick at boxes just so you can say this is your personality.
Sending you some prompts to get these thoughts going (even a 5-minute breather from your day is fine!):
- How has today's you grown from the you 5 years back?
- How do you advocate for yourself?
- How do you remind yourself that you're enough?
- What's a choice you can make this coming week based on your needs?
Turning these pages
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$100 says your Asian Tiger Mum will flip out if you tell her you want to be an influencer on TikTok. Fair warning, this immersive piece is really very, very long. But SUCH a good read. I was blown away by the relevance and harsh truths of today's youth, the anxiety that breaks through and the wry reflection from the writer. TikTok is like the 1848 Gold Rush where things still manage to feel like unchartered territory. "The angle of our pose might be different, but all of us bow unfailingly at the altar of the algorithm." Reminds me of Peter Pan's Neverland.
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I had an amazing time walking the Kumano Kodō in 2019 as a full-on challenge to my own stamina and fitness. ngl, 44km in 3 days uphill was madness for me but I had two great friends for company and we plucked and roasted our own bancha with the locals. Craig Mod's doing 500km of the route right now. I signed up for his time-boxed newsletter and can't wait to see his pictorial walk.
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Most people's calendars only track work meetings, but why not track appointments with yourself, and change the approach of your to-do lists? That's how you prioritise and schedule things when everything just seems like they "needed to be done yesterday" (shut up about this already).
Hello, it me.
Also, dear reader, please stop scoffing (I see you!) when I tell you I am very shy in real life. There's just this ambitious extroversion in me to keep meeting new people, making connections because the stories out there - from you - are worth finding out and listening to.
Showing up,
Medhā