Don't debug your features

I have a confession to make: Twelve days before my fortieth birthday, I’ve managed to never grow up. And I don’t plan on starting.

My secret to the fountain of childlike wonderment is simple:

I watch out for false prophets.

Often well-intentioned and focused on helping me stay inside of acceptable professional containers, these false prophets have told me I am "too much" of things I consider my superpowers (aka my "too-per-powers" if you’ll allow me to coin a new term1).

In annual reviews, informal feedback sessions, and professional + personal break ups, a small sample of what I’ve been told I am “too much” of:?

Personal

Grateful

Inquisitive

Thorough?

Muscular

Generative?

Dramatic

Direct

Intense

Idealistic?

Impractical?

Goofy

Generous

Quirky

Youthful

Concerned

Colorful?

Cheesy

Complex

Those who think a person's too is a?bug?to be smashed are the same people:

• Who are driven by a system* designed to deliver repeatability and conformity (*which I will sometimes broadly refer to as the Matrix, inspired by the film of the same name).
• Who find your abundance to threaten their lacking.?

It’s really?too?bad for them, because those are our best?features.

Most of the ‘too muchas’ listed above, I’ve been purposely cultivating since kindergarten.

My too-per-powers have been nurtured by nature, my parents (especially by my mom), listening to my intuition, and by many teacher-guides along the way.

My too-per-powers have opened doors and minds across aisles and industries.?

Protecting and standing for my too-per-powers has shown me that:

• Shining my light invites others to do the same (the higher I climb, the further the light can carry?);
• When others shine—without absorbing false prophecies—outsized impacts are had;
• When outsized impacts are had, there is actual magic that vibrates across space and time. More is possible. Joy is abundant. Belonging is infinite. ???? ??

Okay, let's make this actionable.

Prompts for Thought

• What are you potentially discouraging when you give feedback? how might you rework your approach so you don’t inadvertently curb someone’s magic?
• How might you reframe feedback around your ‘too-per-powers’? What’s the ‘why’ behind the feedback? what might be a false prophecy? how might you discern between the two?

Discernments for Thought

• Listen and feel for the rope-pushing moments (e.g. draining, combative, obtuse). Don’t let them last too long. Don’t let them distract, derail, or diminish you. Deselect, deprioritize, and play through them when and where you can.?
• Listen and feel for the boulder-guiding moments (e.g. such ease, so engaging, very energizing). Who is present? How are you showing up? What are the outcomes? How can you design more of your life to feel this way?

Today and always, I am raising a glass and fist full of wildflowers to you and your too-per-powers. May you honor them, protect them, and nurture them in others.

Note: This was a remixed version of TRTL Adventures' weekly newsletter. For the complete edition on too-per-powers, check out?False Prophets.