Thy Nemesis Becomes You

One of my favorite comics is 9 Chickweed Lane.  There are many reasons I love it.  One being the strong female characters as well as the arts and family themes.  Here is a link to it:  http://www.gocomics.com/9chickweedlane  Something I have always loved about the story line was how the women in their family have alter egos.  They use their alter egos to overcome hardships and difficulties.  Whenever they feel threatened, challenged, or need that little bit of extra strength to undertake a task they switch into their alter ego.  I have been thinking of what my alter ego would be ever since I started reading 9 Chickweed Lane five years ago.

Most people understand that we all have hardships and things that we need to overcome.  Things we struggle with.  Our own personal demons.  They could be anything from board meetings, to paying bills, to overcoming procrastination.  We all have them.  Now take a minute and put all of those things aside.  Go out and have an outing with some good friends or family members and have them help you come up with an alter ego.  This is fine.  They are going to be your side kicks or partners in crime anyway.  You can not be a side kick in your own life.  It doesn't work that way, but you can be a side kick in their lives.  I don't have side kicks.  I have minions, but I do have other people that are on the same villainous league as I am.  We are there to listen and support each other when needed.

Take the time to picture it in your head.  Come up with a name for your alter ego.  Have a motive.  An attack plan.  Design your outfit.  Do it all.  Come up with the ins and outs of your alter ego.  It doesn't have to happen over night.  It took me five years to find mine.

Once you have worked all of that out do what you need to do to become your alter ego.  Wear a bed sheet around your shoulders, speak in a "funny" accent, wear your underwear over your pants and put a belt around the top of your head, strike a funny pose, it will be special to you.  It is your alter ego after all.  Now go back to that thing that was causing you issues before.  It is now your arch nemesis.  You are in an epic battle with it.  It is either you or it, and you shall never lose to your arch nemesis for you are a superhero/villain.

It is a lot easier, isn't it?

You're welcome.

Thy nemesis really does become you.

The power of cute compels you!  <----- My villainous catch phrase

Overcoming Fear and Self Doubt

I love this song.  Besides the sentiments of the song itself, and the fact that it is beautifully done.  The man who song, wrote, and produced this song became one of my favorite people when I learned that he believed that everyone can sing.  His name is Steve McDonald.  He told his student Hollie Smith (the female vocalist in the song) this, and that all anyone needs to do is find a type of music that fits their voice.  Kind of a proof of this point Hollie Smith was 16 years old when she sang this song and produced her own music album with the aid of Steve McDonald.

I'll let that sink in for a moment, and give you some time to ponder the implications.

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The reason I like this analogy so much to explain my personal philosophies is that most of us don't think that we are any good at singing.  And, here is someone who does it professionally saying, "Well, actually you can, and I believe in you."

This really is how I view the world.  I think anyone can do anything that they want to do.  They just need to put their mind to it.  I've done so many things in my life that other people have told me that I couldn't do.  I've overcome obstacles, and physical limitations.  Studies have shown that everyone has the capabilities to learn anything.  The only question is how long it takes a person to learn something.

I've heard numerous people tell me that they don't want to do something, because the "can't do it," or they "aren't good enough."  We all have to start somewhere.  Even I struggle with these feelings from time to time.  The trick is to not give into them.

I don't believe in failure.  I also don't believe in perfection.  I work towards self mastery, and I believe that there is always something that I can improve on.  Things may not work out the way you expect them to on your first attempt, but that does not mean that if you give it a second (or fifteenth) try it won't work out for you.

I believe in you.