100 Days of Positive Thinking: Day 67 (The Art of Being Yourself)

What is more beautiful than being fully yourself? In her Ted Talk, Caroline McHugh unpacks her philosophy of radical self-love and acceptance. She contrasts inferiority and superiority as two negative extremes. The former requires that you perceive  yourself as less than others, the latter that you see yourself above others. McHugh suggests that interiority, focusing on the gifts you have to offer and putting your time, effort, and passion in service of these gifts, can be a way to live your very best life. For not only are you not working towards and living your purpose, but you are also able to celebrate the gifts others have to offer, to celebrate and learn from them.

"There are very few things that I think are gender-specific, but one of them is something I call “approval addiction.” The need to be liked, the need for approbation, or recognition, or for somebody to tell you it’s okay. I find more woman suffer from that affliction than men, and I think it’s one of the most debilitating things. When it comes to being yourself needing other people’s approval, loving somebody else’s opinion, and mistaking it for your own is one of the most debilitating things you’ll do on the road to being yourself. You will never, ever be perceptionless, but it’s important to be perception free."

I will be returning to and unpacking this talk for quite some time. Every now and then, you need a reminder of what matters. This talk came along at just the right time and I am grateful for its lessons.