Your Perfect Family

I found this exercise at a great blog called FluentSelf, and thought I’d give it a try. It’s from a book called Wishcraft by Barbara Sher (which you can download for free here). Havi gives a better explanation than I do, but basically if you could pick 5 people out of history to be your family members, whom would you choose? Imagine that those 5 people are sitting in your living room when you walk in the door. What do they think about you? Imagine yourself in each of their minds and write down what they are thinking. Only write good stuff! They are your perfect family, they know you better than anyone, and they love you. The idea here is that your ideal family sees only your great qualities, and always believes in you. This exercise is to help you believe in yourself.

I chose Rachel Carson, Einstein, Gandhi, Billie Holiday, and Queen Elizabeth I. Here’s what they had to say about me.

RC: Maureen loves the planet and is passionate about protecting it. She appreciates Earth’s beauty, and wants future generations to have access to that same beauty. She has the knowledge and dedication to achieve this task.

Einstein: Maureen has a creative and analytical mind. She asks important questions, and is good at finding creative solutions to problems.

Gandhi: Maureen is caring and sensitive. She has a huge capacity for empathy.

Billie Holiday: Maureen knows the blues. She sees pain and suffering in the world, but she doesn’t let it get her down. Instead, she uses it for motivation and inspiration.

Queen Elizabeth: Maureen is a force to be reckoned with. She laughs in the faces of naysayers, and ignores those who try to tell her what she can or can’t do. She is a strong, independent thinker.