On Knowing Me

My dad used to accuse me of vanity when I would spend time in front of the mirror.  I knew better.  I was analyzing, critiquing and studying.  If you know me at all, you know I wasn’t fussing with my hair and make-up.  I was noticing how my freckles changed, that my eyebrows don’t match, and wishing I had a little less angle on my nose.  I guess it might me a little vain in that I have always wanted to know me better.

I have a new mirror now, personality types.  I just discovered that according to The Art of Seduction, I’m a Dandy with some Coquette tendencies.  I’m a Taurus with Taurus rising, a horse (Chinese Zodiac), I’m right brained, IN-TF-J (I confused the Myers Briggs by being a feeler and a thinker) and I’m a bear hunter (that’s my own metaphor, maybe I’ll write about that another day).  I love personality tests.  Sometimes they surprise me, sometimes they flatter me, sometimes I agree, sometimes not, but I always get to know me a little better.  I find it most beneficial when I see something I want to develop or some weakness I need to turn into a strength.  Conveniently enough, these tests usually come with advice too...

My husband and I work the same techniques and work to create a new game and a new strategy.  We are both counter-fighters, so I had to wonder why it was working so much better for him.  When I discovered that I’m a hunter and he’s a fisher, it all made sense.  I can now stop fighting my nature and adapt my game for that.  Understanding Mars & Venus has made my marriage a little smoother. Discovering that as a “Dandy” people like that I speak my mind, and that makes me more comfortable in my own skin.  We all have our own qualities to appreciate and help us contribute to society, if we categorize and identify them or not.  I'm sure more than one of those types I fit into will tell you that I like to analyze EVERYTHING.

My husband says we are mirrors for each other, we spend hours speaking about philosophy, psychology, strategy and theory, but it all comes down to looking in the mirror… I guess we’re both vain.  Sun Tzu said in the Art of War “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”  There is value in knowing yourself. 

I can tell you all of this, and it’s only a small piece of Katie.  There’s no way you can see the fire in my eyes when I learn something new, no way you can know the depths of my determination, or know what will build me up or break me down.  Only my mirrors and I know me that well.

www.KatieCasimir.com