Dooley Noted: 1/6/2014
Never once in my entire 35 years have my parents told me I was special.
They love me with all their hearts, don’t get me wrong. But they never insisted I was a stand-out human.
They never told me how awesome I was. They never told me how I had unique talents or gifts. They never made me think the world owed me a single thing.
And I’m thankful.
Guess what? You’re not special, either.
Many people get hung up on feeling special or being “understood.” If you think you are so unique that no one understands you, then maybe you can stop focusing on it.
Instead, you can be relatable.
It’s important for me to communicate to my patients, students, and readers that I know I am not special. I am human, with capability limited only by my own mind.
If my company thinks I’m special, then a distance is automatically present.
One might hear comments, like the following:
“I can’t be like Dooley.”
“That’s Dooley. That’s not me.”
“I don’t have in me what Dooley has.”
Well, I call your bluff.
You have skills to offer. Sharing your skills can help others to hone their own skills, through your guidance and inspiration. This doesn’t make you special. It makes you relatable.
You also have a world of things to learn that others can help you integrate. It makes them relatable to you, too.
You’re not special. I’m not special.
We are filled with immense potential, every one of us.
You can think you’re special, or you can admit you’re relatable.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley