Originally posted on Facebook HERE
I’ve been thinking this week about how many different facets we have as humans that make up the whole of our personalities. I’ve been reading a book about the early days of The Beatles written from the perspective of one of their road managers, and he talks about how, during the days they were really hitting it big worldwide, they didn’t treat the people working for and with them very well at all. There was a lot of pressure on the band, and a demanding schedule as well. Later on, John Lennon said, “we were bastards. You can’t be anything else in such a pressurized situation, and we took it out on (the people working for us)”. And when I read that I thought of this quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer: “When you squeeze an orange, you’ll always get orange juice to come out. The same logic applies to you: when someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical, and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depression, or anxiety, that is what’s inside. If love and joy are what you want to give and receive, change your life by changing what’s inside.” John Lennon became a voice for peace. Wayne Dyer wrote many bestselling books in the spiritual/self-help genre. Both spoke a lot about love and the importance of loving one another. And both could be hard to deal with and short tempered in their personal life as well. We have many different facets within us, and we never know where anyone else is at in their personal life as well. So, before you get too pissed off because of something someone said or did, step back a bit. Have you ever been short with someone because of internal tension that had nothing to do with the situation at all? I think we all have. And, we all have different personas, too – for me, there’s “financial advisor, bass player, husband, step-father, grandfather, writer, speaker, etc…” – and in each one I act a bit differently depending on the role I’m playing. When I was still playing in rock bands regularly and was also a financial advisor – people who only knew me from one or the other were quite surprised when they would see the other persona. If you knew me from rock bands, all black, skulls, head-banging, etc – then saw me as an advisor – always in a full suit & jacket and looking very conservative – it could be a bit of a culture shock, and vice-versa. Same person, many personalities. Lennon also said, “you have to be a bastard to make it”. Interesting quote there. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions to achieve your goals. The Beatles fired their drummer to get Ringo not long before they made it big. And sometimes you just can’t take “no” for an answer. And sometimes you’re just an asshole because there’s so much pressure put on you, that’s what comes out. There’s many of us within all of us. Which personalities bring you the most joy? I think it changes as we go through life, too… Lennon walked away from music for several years before he made a comeback. My guess is that by then he wasn’t quite as much of a “bastard” at that time as he was when they were clawing their way to the top. I know, for me, I set high expectations to do everything I do extremely well. I’m not good at tolerating mistakes (especially my own), and I tend to always have a bit too much going on than I can handle without feeling pressure from somewhere. And I can feel it when it’s passed the “breaking point” – when I’m snapping in situations that I wouldn’t normally snap in, or being short to people I don’t want to be short with. I think we all need to take time to just step back and relax as well to keep ourselves centered. Ah… “vacation Dave”… one of my favorite “Daves” I know. Good luck handling all the “you’s” within you today. Is there one you haven’t visited in a while that you’d like to take another look at? Is there one that needs to move out?… be the best you you can be by focusing on the best you’s you are.
