Day 2 – Celebrate Your Flaws

Today I notified family, some friends, a few community members, and even someone I’ve never met before to weigh in on this project. The response was great. Most encouraged. Some challenged. Some were silent.

I especially appreciated Yarby’s concept of centering. I am ADHD yet introspective and I start talking when nervous. I wish I was more stoic. I see my impulsiveness as one of my greatest character flaws.

Calling it a character flaw seems pretty harsh, huh? In a recent discussion about what makes us human, I gave my two cents in the comments. I had spent the night driving home from Greenville, SC listening to an NPR interview with George Dawes Green (novelist, poet, and founder of The Moth). Mr Green stated that nobody likes stories about perfect people doing perfect things and having a jolly good perfect time.

His advice: If you want to captivate your audience, tell an embarrassing story about yourself.

So with that frame of reference, here is how I answered the question, “What makes us human?”

Our flaws make us human.
Empathy makes us human.
Telling (and listening to) stories makes us human. Good stories are shared with close friends and they involve personal experiences. The best story-tellers expose their own flaws.

Reverse engineer this next time you have a conversation. Does the person across the table/tube want the white-washed “Digital Super Me” (Alex Bogusky’s name for it). Is that what they will relate to? What kind of conversation will it start? Will they in turn expose their true selves or their own Digital Super Me? Will it be an honest conversation or a game of upsmanship?

So tomorrow, after I wake up and have my hot cup of water, my directive for the day will be:

Wait to speak until spoken to.

This will be a tough one for me. I won’t even pretend to say I can do it from this day forward and I certainly hope you all don’t do this (how would any conversation ever start?). This is me…addressing my personal flaw. If you are following along at home, pick your greatest character flaw and do something similar tomorrow. Do something that goes against your nature.

As usual, look for an update tomorrow.

Flaws help us be unique

So the morning went well. I slipped a little and read some news while I drank my hot water but, hey, it’s my day off. I’ve extended today’s directive into the internet as well. I’m not initiating any contact today whatsoever.

Still no real lesson for the day yet…

Got it. Lesson learned: Don’t pursue perfection.

Set goals. Improve yourself constantly. But be at peace with your flaws and learn to work with them.