My 7 Year-Old Self

I came across this post on Runners World, which is the inspiration for today’s topic. Kristen Armstrong is the ex-wife of Lance. She’s a runner, a writer and a mommy. Recently, she was asked to give a talk to her twin daughters’ running group. Here is an exert from her post.

“I asked the girls to pair up in groups of two, and I handed them each a piece of butcher paper and some markers. They traced the outlines of each other’s bodies and we held them up for review. We talked about how this was our “outline,” our “shape,” our “container.”   And how this shape basically was the one God gave us, having a lot to do with heredity (we defined this), history, and a bit to do with our healthy choices (we eat healthy food so we can grow, we exercise so our muscles are strong, etc.). Then I had them take their outlines, find a private spot in the park with some markers, and write all the things that were special and unique that they liked about themselves – on the inside of their outlines.

I wasn’t sure how this would go, if they would be shy, at a loss for words, or have short attention spans. I was frankly blown away. I don’t know if I have many adult friends who could come up with words about themselves that were so gracious, thoughtful, interesting, insightful, introspective, and honest. I saw words like:

…good friend, honest, responsible, loving, good sense of humor, disciplined, good student, smart, athletic, strong, loyal, good reader, adventurous, brave, silly, good daughter, good sister, thoughtful, kind, helpful, generous, fast, good runner, focused, dramatic…”

This post really got me thinking. I remember many moons ago when I was a first grader, my teacher asked us to draw a picture of ourselves. We were then instructed to write a brief description of our self along with what we wanted to be when we grew up. At the end of my senior year of high school, they handed them back to us. (yes, I went to the same school with the same people for 12 years).

My answers were simple. I wanted to be a nurse. My favorite color was pink. The color of my hair is brown, blond and red (My hair was strawberry blond). What if I had been asked what Kristen asked of those girls? My seven year old self was happy with every aspect of life. She wasn’t tainted with insecurities. The world was her oyster and dreams were things that come true.

Kristen goes on to say…” I had to wonder about my own outline. If I could lie still enough, without wiggling self-consciously or making remarks while being traced. If I would be completely at ease with my image on the paper, and what words I would choose today to fill in the description of the woman inside.”

If the seven year-old me was to take the adult me by the hand, what would she say? Her words would radiate with affection, self confidence and love . They would never be unkind, critical or pessimistic.

Be kind to yourself always and listen to the voice of your seven year-old self.