Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Accomplishments

I've mentioned this book before (Exactly As I Am by Shaun Robinson) and I decided that instead of giving you a review, I would simply recommend it and share a few of my favorite quotes. It's an interesting book and a quick read and I've enjoyed the different points of view it offers from celebrities, athletes and other successful women.

A lot of what is mentioned on this blog has to do with accomplishments. Being crafty, cooking, cleaning, writing, etc. are all things that we can accomplish and, in turn, feel good about. As much as I hate to clean, I always feel better having done it, and I always feel good about myself when I complete a project. This quote about accomplishments, big and small, stood out to me today.

"We currently live in a culture that celebrates celebrity, appearance, even notoriety - all of which have very little content and meaning. For me, the root of self-esteem is accomplishment, both big and small. An accomplishment is something of value - whether it is the ability to make others comfortable, build something with your hands, read well for comprehension - anything, absolutely anything that you do that has meaning for you. And that you derive pleasure from! I think that many girls are misled, these days, by a culture that celebrates the superficial.

What matters most (more than what you look like, how much you weigh, where you came from, your financial status - all those things we think matter) is who you are and what you care about. Find meaning in your life, search for purpose, strive toward understanding your world and contributing to it, no matter what it is. If it is of consequence to you, it is important." - Julianne Moore

3 comments:

annie (the annilygreen one) said...

i love this. i really think accomplishment is the key to self-esteem, and sometimes we have to redefine "accomplishment" so we're not trying to do or be things that don't mean anything or that we're not meant to be (famous, rich, a neat freak, etc).

mkgs said...

The thing that stands out to me about this is only caring about things that matter to you, things that you think are important, not trying to accomplish things because other people think you should. We get so stuck in worrying about what other people think, whether consciously or not, and it's so dumb to put that stress on ourselves when it really doesn't matter!

annie (the annilygreen one) said...

miri...amen!