No matter how you might slice it, your unique perspective is what makes you YOU. Many women spend their whole lives trying to diminish its light, cram it to “fit” into someone else’s opinion of who they “should” be, or simply spend so much time tending to others that they lose sight of their own special lens.

Personally I spent many years discounting my talents, perspectives, and what I had to offer. I felt not good enough and afraid to accept the vulnerability that comes with putting oneself “out there” by expressing myself fully and honoring that.

One powerful experience I had when I was receiving some of my coach training by Debbie Ford was that of documenting my perspective each day for a year. I was doing some personal transformational work and my heart told me that what I needed to do was document my view on the world and my day to day life for an entire year. That looked like picking up my camera and taking at least one photo each day capturing my perspective, my experiences, my take on things. What a powerful experience it was.

First off this exercise forced me to get back behind the camera again. I have LOVED photography since I was a kid. I still have my little Kodak Instamatic camera I got as a gift. Those little square contraptions that had a flash stick that could blind a horse. Yet, I had let this passion languish because after all, I’m a superwoman, an over-achiever - of course there were “more important” things to do. Second, it made me see my life, one day at a time, through a new set of eyes. What was interesting today? What did I see that caught my fancy? What is ordinary that I take for granted? And on days when I was busy and found myself nearing bedtime without having fulfilled my commitment to myself of taking a photo, I saw the world through the “What the hell can I take a picture of so I can go to bed?!?” lens. Needless to say in that year-long experiment my partner, family, and cats got their fair share of photos taken in the most odd moments.

What I learned from this exercise was how to honor, respect, and even celebrate my own unique perspective. I learned to celebrate ME. Read the rest of this entry »