You didn’t get where you are by being timid or holding back when you had something to express or an opinion to share. 

As a strong leader, the decisions you make set the course for those around you. Paired with this responsibility is the requirement that you more deeply and accurately know who you are. 

It’s not enough to describe yourself with cliches or surface-level responses such as “I’m a people person,” “I’m driven,” or “I’m an introvert”. 

To come up with more aligned words and phrases that will more accurately describe who we truly are, we’ve got to slow down and identify how we feel about the go-to names, phrases, and descriptors we’ve used in the past. 

Then, it’s important to sit with those adjectives and pay attention to how each description affects your emotions.

Ask yourself, “Do these names fit my purpose?” How do the names you’ve identified make you feel? 

From here, you can begin to more selectively craft and choose descriptions of yourself.

It may take some reflection but practicing this exercise often will have you naming your innate traits and describing yourself in a deeper, more aligned way.

The unique nature of the Both/And concept makes it a powerful tool for expanding your thinking and making an effect in the world. For example, you can apply it to the outside world and to your own inner world.

Listen to episode 3 – Crafting a more powerful description of yourself – of my podcast Both/And with Bessi Graham to dig deeper into restricting labels that trap you into becoming a one-dimensional person.