The Person You Want To Be

[Zaverexus]

Being around someone I love reminds me every minute of the kind of man I want to be, for her and for me, and so I act as that ideal self.
It's not as if it always works, but I feel that that is the best standard to which to hold yourself: not to the standard of others, but to the standard of the man you want to be.
And though I forget about it alone sometimes [...]

This was my post a few minutes ago on a relationship-type thread and it made me realize: If I could always keep in my head this image of who I want to be, I could be that person.
Simple enough, but difficult in practice, and I thought I would share in this revelation with my fellow Escapists.

So join me in my efforts! Write here about the qualities of the person you would like to be, and hopefully think about those qualities and work towards them.
Feel free to tell us why you want to be the person you describe, or give advice to others on their goals.

[I put this in Advice, of course, because we are writing our own advice to improve ourselves.]

 

[Zaverexus]

I tend to set a wide variety of goals for myself, and so I want to be:

Disciplined and Confident, as through both of these you can easily achieve much else.

Eloquent, because I enjoy speech and its use by one well versed.

Well-read, because I enjoy literature and culture and to make references and jokes about the same.

Fit, because I take pride in my health and physical ability.

Witty, because a battle of wits is a very fun thing.

Skilled, because I practice at a wide variety of things and it is only natural to seek excellence in all.

Relaxed, because worrying prevents enjoyment of life.

... I've probably read a bit too much of gentlemanly people prior to writing, but these are things I aspire to.

 

[Simalacrum]

The person I want to be eh?

Organised, because thats a serious issue for me (to do with my Asperger Syndrome. Its a common misconception that Aspergers is a disorder purely on a social level :3)

Focused, because I am far too easily distracted...

Slightly more uptight (but only slightly!), because right now I never stress about even the most dire of situations!

Inspiring, because I want to change the world!

Other than that, I'm pretty content with who I am ^_^

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

The person I want to be?

.............bah.

I stopped asking that question of myself because I found it counterproductive. I am who I am. I can improve on myself, sure, but telling myself "I have to improve myself!" only ever got in the way of that progress.

I've changed a lot since I was a kid. Yes, I have some VERY serious attention issues, lack of organization and laziness (I honestly hate my ADD. Makes it harder to do everything when you're easily distracted). But honestly, I'm happy with who I am. And I won't chase change. I'll let change come to me.

Because thinking that way allowed me to change and improve myself. Only by accepting that I was everything I was, faults and all, was I able to overcome them and become someone better. Accept yourself, and try to be who you are, and the positive changes will happen on their own.

 

[Leonartheinsane]

Ohhh this:


IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

 

[Zaverexus]

I stopped asking that question of myself because I found it counterproductive. I am who I am. I can improve on myself, sure, but telling myself "I have to improve myself!" only ever got in the way of that progress.

The point is not to say "I have to improve", but to say "I want to improve" because without any goals we become sedentary and useless.
The extent to which each man pursues his goals is his own affair.

And having goals does not mean you are not satisfied with yourself (I for one am very comfortable with who I am) but that you accept your qualities enough to see that you are not perfect, so that you can choose which things are worth the effort to improve and set about doing so.