This is what I know so far...
Things I know about myself
I first saw this post from over at Pay Attention, Be Astonished back in January and immediately fell in love with the idea of knowing and wanted to create a list myself.
So here I am 3 months later doing just that:
The things I know about myself
You’re not a morning person and never will be. Stop pretending. It always takes you at least one pot of tea and an hour before your brain really kicks in for the day.
Tea is your favourite, even more than red wine, which is saying something. Fruit teas are a hard pass, some herbal teas are good, but nothing beats a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea.1
Food isn’t fuel. It’s delicious, comforting and conversational.
Cold water hurts. Every single time. Like tiny needles jabbing at you. At first, then as you breathe into it it becomes much more healing than meditation, yoga or journaling ever has.
Systems are soothe, but you live in borderline chaos. Digital processes and automations are magic. The house? Well that’s an entirely different story.
You shed (see above). You have the ability to leave a scarf or earring behind even when you’re staying in a shoe-box size hotel room.
Brain fog is real, which doesn’t help with the shedding. Asana, your go-to project management tool, helps. As does writing things down, pottering and taking long pauses between tasks.
You are excellent at starting things. Grand plans. New hobbies. Online courses. A novel. The planning stage is where it’s at - notebooks, excel spreadsheets and colour coded everything. Just don’t expect to act on any of it.
You collect books everywhere you go and you often have three (okay, five) on the go at any one time.2 One will have a bookmark that’s been there for at least 6 months.
Your feet were not made for heels. You’re short, you know where you stand, literally down there and that’s ok. Wearing flats means you can break into a sprint when needed, although only for about 10 seconds before breathlessly calling Kiki’s name as she tears off up the lane chasing a quad bike.
That said, you are vain. Being seen to be attractive was instilled in you from a young age and it’s hard to shake. While you may be comfortable with sharing no filter photos, greying hair and crows feet, your increasing weight, hooded eyes and that ginormous crease on your lip are always the things you notice first.
You need space. Physically, mentally, emotionally. Open sky, flat landscape and a slow potter round the garden is how you reset.
You use humour to handle everything. Discomfort? Grief? Existential dread? Bring out the self-deprecating joke or cutting jibes (sorry friends & fam). Not always appropriate but that rarely stops you.
You will never have your shit together, stop trying.
And the final thing I really know?
Knowing yourself isn’t fixed.
In 1, 5, or 10 years’ time, there’ll be a whole bunch of new things I know about myself.
A few of these might fall away, although I suspect most are lifers.
What won’t change, I hope, are my core values: humour, compassion and curiosity.
Have recently been introduced to Cork’s finest Barry’s Tea - it’s good but not quite a match for Yorkshire.
Currently reading: The Amber Fury by Natalie Haynes, A Flat Place by Noreen Masud and The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown which has been on the go for almost a year…
Hello, are you me?
Love this list. Sometimes it’s so good to just write this stuff down and say it out loud!