Lose the Cape
I'm doing a series of posts that reflect a Secret of Adulthood from
Gretchen Rubin's book/blog The Happiness Project: "The opposite
of a great truth is also true."
LOSE THE CAPE or, in true opposite fashion STOP BEING A SUPER HERO
This post is dedicated to my Neighbor. You know who you are.
One of the cards I received after my surgery read: "the supergirl cape is in the laundry. you'll just have to take my word for it."
Sometimes being a Super Hero is no fun. All that conflict resolution. All those needy people. No down time. Always "yes," never "no."
And then there's the outfit.
Super heroes get some pretty crazy costumes.
I remember watching "Wonder Woman" as a kid and now all I can wonder is "What was she *thinking*??!!" For those of you not familiar with the original, I present to you the lovely Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman:
(Image via this Web site about a Greek organization.)
Generally, Wonder Woman didn't wear her cape when engaged in righting wrongs. I'm including another photo simply to show her boots. I looked for an action shot that included boots AND use of the bracelets, but couldn't find one, sorry.
(Image via The Boston Herald)
So, she lost the cape, which certainly made it easier to fight off the bad guys. But don't you know her feet had to hurt, and she was constantly tugging her outfit up?
What I'm saying is, being a Super Hero has its moments of fun and possibly glory. Sometimes the Good Guys win and the Super Hero feels good about a job well done. But underneath the glitz and magical bracelets that deflect bullets is a woman who wants to wear yoga pants and a comfy t-shirt. At least in my opinion.
Let's now get down to the heart of the matter: this is not really a discussion about Wonder Woman and her crazy attempt to bring peace to the world while wearing a ridiculous outfit. "Lose the cape" means abandoning the idea that we have to be Everything To Everyone. That whenever someone wants something, we drop whatever it is that we're doing and rescue them.
So, look yourself in the mirror and practice saying "no." Give up the idea (or work on convincing others if it's their expectations you're trying to meet), that you are a Super Hero who is on call for them 24/7. Lower your expectations. Put some time for yourself and what you want to do in your schedule. Stop thinking in terms of "should" and living your life as an exercise in guilt avoidance.
And by all means, send the cape to the cleaners. Permanently.
LOSE THE CAPE or, in true opposite fashion STOP BEING A SUPER HERO
This post is dedicated to my Neighbor. You know who you are.
One of the cards I received after my surgery read: "the supergirl cape is in the laundry. you'll just have to take my word for it."
Sometimes being a Super Hero is no fun. All that conflict resolution. All those needy people. No down time. Always "yes," never "no."
And then there's the outfit.
Super heroes get some pretty crazy costumes.
I remember watching "Wonder Woman" as a kid and now all I can wonder is "What was she *thinking*??!!" For those of you not familiar with the original, I present to you the lovely Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman:
(Image via this Web site about a Greek organization.)
Generally, Wonder Woman didn't wear her cape when engaged in righting wrongs. I'm including another photo simply to show her boots. I looked for an action shot that included boots AND use of the bracelets, but couldn't find one, sorry.
(Image via The Boston Herald)
So, she lost the cape, which certainly made it easier to fight off the bad guys. But don't you know her feet had to hurt, and she was constantly tugging her outfit up?
What I'm saying is, being a Super Hero has its moments of fun and possibly glory. Sometimes the Good Guys win and the Super Hero feels good about a job well done. But underneath the glitz and magical bracelets that deflect bullets is a woman who wants to wear yoga pants and a comfy t-shirt. At least in my opinion.
Let's now get down to the heart of the matter: this is not really a discussion about Wonder Woman and her crazy attempt to bring peace to the world while wearing a ridiculous outfit. "Lose the cape" means abandoning the idea that we have to be Everything To Everyone. That whenever someone wants something, we drop whatever it is that we're doing and rescue them.
So, look yourself in the mirror and practice saying "no." Give up the idea (or work on convincing others if it's their expectations you're trying to meet), that you are a Super Hero who is on call for them 24/7. Lower your expectations. Put some time for yourself and what you want to do in your schedule. Stop thinking in terms of "should" and living your life as an exercise in guilt avoidance.
And by all means, send the cape to the cleaners. Permanently.
Posted by Keri Collins at 5/16/2010 2:17 PM 
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: life relationships happiness project development
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: life relationships happiness project development
well said, keri.
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