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In Your Shoes

Written by: Eva Gregory

Article Overview: Ever wish that you could have the lifestyle of someone you truly admire? Perhaps it’s the lifestyle of the “rich and famous” like a movie star, or a singer? How do you think people would react if one day you decided to start acting like a “diva extraordinaire,” or a megastar actor? My guess is that your family might want to have you admitted for observation. Would the ramification be any less serious if you instead decided to imitate your next door neighbor or business mentor?

In Your Shoes

Ever wish that you could have the lifestyle of someone you truly admire? Perhaps it’s the lifestyle of the “rich and famous” like a movie star, or a singer? How do you think people would react if one day you decided to start acting like a “diva extraordinaire,” or a megastar actor? My guess is that your family might want to have you admitted for observation. Would the ramification be any less serious if you instead decided to imitate your next door neighbor or business mentor? Perhaps, your family and friends would not rush you to a facility, but I’ll bet they’ll still be quite puzzled. Unfortunately this type of behavior occurs all the time. Someone realizes that they don’t have what they want, so they look at the people who do and decide to copy their actions expecting to achieve the desired result. Alas, they frequently find themselves disappointed.
Graciella has “the life.” She just got the promotion that Tina secretly coveted, along with the huge office, has a wonderful house in the suburbs, the newest sport utility vehicle for bad weather and a flashy convertible for fun, a successful husband who loves to cook, and two darling children. When Tina compared her life to Graciella’s with the second mortgage, the one car that may or may not get her to work, and the cubicle the size of a shoebox, she couldn’t help but feel a tad short-changed. She didn’t begrudge Graciella the things she had achieved, but desperately wanted them for herself. So, Tina decided that if she wanted a similar lifestyle, she needed to behave in a very similar manner.

Tina became a “mini-Graciella.” She began to dress like Graciella, mimic her actions, and even eat similar things. At first Graciella was mildly amused, but quickly became annoyed and a tad concerned over Tina’s behavior. Tina’s metamorphosis did not go unnoticed by her other co-workers, and she suddenly found herself getting the attention she desired, but for all the wrong reasons. Her boss quickly became dissatisfied with her work because he relied upon the unique insight that Tina had brought to the table. After about a month of this troubling behavior he called her into his office. She anticipated the meeting with excitement. She just knew that he was going to offer her the remaining promotion. Why wouldn’t he? After all she had been doing exactly the same things as Graciella. Tina could not understand why her boss was not smiling when she walked in, as they had always had an easy relationship. After Tina sat he explained to her that she had been a shoe-in for the promotion until about a month before. He went on to say that instead of promoting her as he had hoped, he was actually issuing an informal warning because her performance had been seriously sub-standard. He told her that she had lost the promotion to another employee, but that she would have another chance in about a year, providing that her current issue was rectified immediately. Before she left he patted her hand and told her that one Graciella in the office was enough, but they really needed the input, intelligence, and insight that Tina brought to the team. As Tina walked back to her tiny cubicle fighting tears, she realized how creepy she had been behaving. She had willingly abandoned who she was, her unique traits, her quirky sense of humor, and her unerringly sense of intuition for her job. At what cost? She almost lost a job she truly enjoyed, was ostracized from people that she had worked with for years, and had move herself even further from her goals.

There are a number of ways that Tina could have handled the situation, but the most effective way would have been by embracing her uniqueness. Tina lost track of what was working for her and focused on what she wanted that she didn’t have. Tina forgot to embrace the qualities that made her Tina, to put those positive vibrations out into the universe so that those wonderful qualities of hers would attract more of the lifestyle that she desired. Tina got too caught up in “falling in line” and forgot that marching to her own tune could be just as much fun, and bring success on its own. Success tailored to Tina, the type that is the perfect fit for her because she attracted it to suit her qualities, desires, abilities, and spirit.

Remember to be your own unique self, be it similar to someone else or completely different, just be true to you. That authenticity and honesty is the heart of you, the heart from which your vibrations are unleashed. Honest thoughts, vibrations, and actions will produce amazing results that are so in-line with what you truly desire.

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Article Tags: admire, Eva Gregory, honesty, imitate, mentor



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