Who Do You Want To Be?

This week is Halloween and, for once, I’m going to be home. Our neighborhood goes all out in the decorating and prepping for the trick or treaters and I’m always bummed when I’m on the road for this event. Our next-door neighbors have their yard filled with inflatable ghosts and goblins and an assortment of Star Wars figures. Our one pumpkin is no match.

I think I’m going to try harder this year. I don’t want to be labeled Crabby Appleton which was our nickname for the woman in the neighborhood who always got upset when we would have apple fights with the crab apples from her tree. She was the one who gave out toothbrushes at Halloween.

I remember the excitement this generated for me as a child. The big question was always who are you going to be? During the build up to the big night of trick or treating, my friends and I would go back and forth, do we want to be a princess, or something scary? A super hero or a clown? Someone famous or someone from a fairy tale? This was serious stuff and our choice somehow reflected something about our aspirations. Who do we want to be?

I think this question is something that lingers long into Adulthood, which may explain how this holiday has expanded into our workplaces, restaurants and almost everywhere you go on October 31st. For a few hours, we choose to be someone else. Hide behind a mask or makeup and have fun living in someone else’s skin for a short time. It’s a great escape.

I would like to propose that on this Halloween that, somewhere in the day, you choose to be you. The real you. Your authentic self. That may be harder than you think! We’ve all been programmed to operate a certain way and that’s who people expect to show up. We may even be confused about who that person inside of us really is. We’ve spent so much time adjusting and coping with what the world expects of us that we may have lost touch with who we really are. The person on the outside and the person on the inside can be very different.

After the costume comes off, here’s a little help to get back in touch with the real you. If you have your iMap report, look at the page with the circle on the four quadrant Map. This describes what you really want even if your normal self operates differently. It defines what causes you to thrive. Here is a simple guide to what’s inside:

·      Reds: Energetic, decisive, team-minded, collaborative and results driven

·      Greens: Friendly, fun, spontaneous, goal-oriented and flexible

·      Yellows: Predictable, fair, organized, focused and grounded

·      Blues: Thoughtful, creative, patient, respectful, loyal

You’ve got this inside of you. Who do you want to be?

If you don't have your own iMap report, contact us at [email protected] or go to imapmylife.com to get your own personal copy of your Map.