Thing 2

The easiest habit for me out of the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful People would without a doubt have to be #7 1/2, "Play."  Whether it's with the preschoolers I work with, the friends I joke around with, my family, my niece and nephew, etc., my personality is extremely playful.  I firmly believe that "acting your age" is only limited by society's unfavorable view on goofing around.  Yes, I believe there is a time and place for being serious, but as long as you're being safe, what's wrong with singing and dancing in the aisle at the grocery store?  I suppose that's why I enjoy Disney World so much, because giggling and acting "childish" isn't frowned upon.  The last time I was there, my family and I parted the sea of people waiting for the Mainstreet Electrical parade with our exciting and rhythmic imitation of a choo-choo-train.  I even rode in the stroller with my niece for a bit one day!  My outrageous display of tom foolery isn't limited to vacation, though. During our daily grind, my nephew and I tend to pretend we're being attacked by jets that we have to outmaneuver or blow to smithereens on the way to school.  We also like to pretend we're in a real-life musical.  Ever make up a duet about brushing your teeth in a bathroom that needs cleaned while a cat begs for attention outside your door?  I have.  Playing is definitely not an obstacle for me.  

The most difficult habit for me is #4, “Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.”  I’m a fairly confident person in quite a lot of areas; however, my intellect is not one of them.  (I realize that I’m substituting the word “intellect” for “learner,” so bare with me; the two have been cooperating in the building and tearing of my confidence for so long that it’s hard for me to separate them.)  My older sister, who is one of my best friends whom I both love and admire, is a “genius,” for lack of a better word.  She has an Aerospace Engineering degree, thinks math and logic problems are enjoyable, and does computer coding for kicks.  After years of being compared to her in school (elementary through high school), I developed a slight mental block topped off with a heaping scoop of “I’m an idiot.”  Even after I began exhibiting my untapped “brainiac” potential with a shocking gpa of 4.0 through most of my undergrad career, my academic success did little to improve my self-confidence.  It was actually through blogging on an online diary forum that the rebuilding process was kick-started.  Before then, I had never really analyzed my thoughts.  It took reading my old posts to realize how much I had learned simply through life-experience and that I might actually be somewhat intelligent.  Even with this breakthrough, I still frequently put myself down and question or second-guess my abilities and skills.  I’m sure that my sarcastic sense of humor doesn’t help matters, either (since sarcasm is based in negative thought).  Consequently, while I might present a confident façade, it’s been an extremely difficult task to change the negative thinking underneath which fuels my self-confidence as a competent or effective learner.