Tag Archives: personal

the “when nobody’s looking” blah blah

Posted on
17

Remind me who said that. That quote about who you are when nobody’s looking? You know the quote. It’s supposed to help bring clarity to who we really are, right? Like: Your truest self can be shown by what you do when nobody’s looking.

It’s been floating around in my head lately, or at least some butchered version of it. (By the way, butchered is not spelled “butured” like my brain wanted to spell it. Whew. That was a close one.)

(Glad I was looking.)

So, the quote. Yes! It pops in my head randomly. Surprisingly. Like a 5-year-old with a cape–”TADAAAA!!–announcing its arrival. And it wants to see what I’m doing. And so, this mini mental mirror has been following me around lately and tapping me on the shoulder and demanding my gaze–especially when nobody’s looking. (haha Oh, how cute.)  Ok, like when I’m driving home from work and Drew is teaching the last session of his Revelation Class and I know I’ve got the evening to myself and my brain asks me what I’m going to do and I answer with something like “Whatever the heck I wanna do, because nobody’s looking! Woot!”

(See? That’s what happens in my head when nobody’s looking.)

I should probably assure you that I didn’t exactly invite this little caped mirror into my head. I don’t know where it (he) came from. But it’s (he’s) there. And maybe that’s not comforting at all…

Nope, probably not.

Oh well.

The more I’ve looked at myself–really watched myself when nobody’s looking–the more I’ve learned about myself:

  • I really do like a clean house (even though the 4 loads of laundry on my living room floor would currently say otherwise–and no I will not attach a photo to this post to show you how high the pile is).
  • I have a love-hate relationship with my laptop.
  • I can go for hours at a time without uttering a word.
  • I like the quiet more than the noise.
  • And, most importantly, I’ve learned that all I really want to do is create. I spend a lot of time creating stuff that I know no one will see. And I don’t know if that’s a good thing–the “no one will see” part. So. Well. Um. I’m going to work on changing that. No more hiding my creativity. It’s ok to be the Creative Mandy when other people are looking.
  • Right? Oh geeze…

Until then, it’s your turn! Think back on the last time you were doing something “you-ish” when nobody was looking. What’d you do? Wanna share? Oh come on it’ll be fun!

What’s your ether? Here’s how you can find out.

Posted on
18

What’s your substance–at your core? What’s the quintessence of who you are? This is a question Randy asked us during Recreate last week and it’s echoed in my brain every since then… Geeze, this is a question I’ve been asking myself in various forms for a few years now, and I’d bet that y’all are tired of hearing me talk seeing me type about it. (And you probably won’t much anymore. I’m done asking. I’ve got my answer. And all the permission I need.)

But, I believe it’s a question worth asking. And then worth asking again. Because, in order to be the best “you” that you can be, you’ve gotta know who you are. Yes, some things in life are all about you. Does that sound self-serving? Let me rephrase it:

We cannot steward the gifts God has given us unless we know and embrace how He’s made us.

Read that again: We cannot steward the gifts God has given us unless we know and embrace how He’s made us.

Do you hear me? Do you know and embrace how He’s made you?

That’s why I’m asking you to fill in the blank “I am _________.”  Sure, each of you can fill in that blank. But there’s a risk. There’s a putting-ourselves-out-there that has to happen as well. Part of embracing our identity is in the willingness to stand up in front of others and say “Hi, my name is _______, and I am _________.”

And we all say with a smile: “Hi ________.”

There is power in that moment.

So I don’t care a lick (sassy country-talk here, because I’m getting fired up) if you send me a picture or a video or whatever that fills in your blank. I just want to give you a safe risk-free excuse to begin the embracing.

And, by next Tuesday, we’ll know how well we know and embrace ourselves.

groupvid[at]mandythompson.com

The “new” me.

Posted on
16

So, last night I went digging through my blog post drafts to see if something tasty was ready for your mental ingestion this morning.

And, to my confusion, I found a post titled The “new” me.–boasting a word count of  zero. Yes. Nada. Blank. No text in it at all. Just that title.

I have no idea where I was going with this a month ago when I typed out those three words. I don’t know who this new me is… What I’m like. What’s drastically different. I mean, yes, I think a lot has changed since sunshine and Vitamin D have returned to my regularly scheduled program, but I think I’m still me on the inside.

Right…?

Oh well. I don’t know what I was getting at. But, let’s turn it into a blog post anyway, shall we?

If you could create a “new” you, what would you be like? Or, to make it easier, what ONE thing would you change about yourself if you were given the chance?

I got so tired of worrying about those last 5 songs, so I…

Posted on
20

Pic by Desiree Delgado

…wrote ALL of them yesterday!!

In something that is best described as a 4 hour mind vomit.

I’m done.

I’ve been thinking about next year’s goal. It’ll definitely be a bit “less.” Maybe something like, 25 re-writes & 25 new ones. Somebody gave me that idea. And it stuck.

While the countdown has drawn to a close, I’ve reflected on what this whole writing experience has meant for me this year.

I can say one thing with complete assurance: It’s changed my life.

Period.

Aside from that, I’ve learned so much about my own brain. About my personality. About what I’m passionate about  – how I handle stress – how I face the “impossible” in my life.

And I’ve learned a massive humongous gigantic quantity about songwriting. Namely, that I have a lot more to learn. :)

So… We’re in the last month of the year. Time to reflect on the last year, and look forward to the next.

Let’s do some reflecting: What have you learned about yourself this past year? I can’t wait to find out!