We all try to hide our flaws, and sometimes end up hiding ourselves completely in the process. Forget the notion of flawless perfection if the fear of failure inhibits you from putting in true effort and trying. We don’t improve, change, or grow by hiding from mistakes and perceived notions of incompetency and failure. Knowing what we have to work on means truly taking ownership of all parts of ourselves and no longer hiding the faulty parts, and the sooner you can diagnose areas you want to work on, the sooner you can get started.

Beyond our own view, we all have mentors and trusted friends who have experiences, perspectives, and knowledge that can enrich and guide our experiences, and it’s easier for people to help when they know how to help. It’s easier to know how to help and what to offer when they can see your faults, so blatantly display them! But display them next to an even more vibrant display that you want to improve yourself, that you are open to feedback and growth, and that you are willing to work extremely hard.

Perhaps this is why I love dancing – you can’t hide your faults. On the competition floor, you make sure that you have strengths that outshine your faults, and every time you dance you try your best. But off the floor, in training, your coaches and teachers will not focus on what you’re doing right, but on what you can do better. You don’t want to pretend to be flawless, you want there to be clear areas for improvement, and that requires that you dance truthfully, that you open yourself completely with your strengths and weaknesses on display, clear for all to see. And then you grow.

You grow, you grow, you grow, and one day, your dancing (or work, or life) will appear effortlessly beautiful and gracefully effortless. So show more, be louder, be seen, make more mistakes.

*If you aren’t making enough smart mistakes. If you are, carry on. If you’re making stupid mistakes, make smarter ones.

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

John Donne
1572 – 1631

I can’t remember my New Years Resolutions…

But to reflect on 2011… The cheekiest but true thing I heard this year was “The meaning of life is life”, and if I were to summarize 2011, or living life, by interesting pieces I’ve read or re-read since January 1, here are the top 5 (in no particular order):

• What you’ll wish you’d known | Paul Graham,  commencement address written January 2005, never delivered
• How will you measure your life? | Clayton M. Christensen, Harvard Business Review, July 2010
• What if the secret to success is failure?  | Paul Tough, NYTimes, September 14, 2011
• Do you suffer from decision fatigue? | John Tierney, NYTimes, August 17, 2011
• Steve Jobs’s commencement address | Steve Jobs, commencement address delivered at Stanford, June 2005

[Tiger Mom was also interesting, perhaps it'll make another list]

[line 4 could use some suggestions]

In the US:

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In China:

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All over the world!!!

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Have you ever met someone whom you always thought was really amazing, but always felt weird about it because you didn’t really know why and it was just a gut feeling, and it wasn’t until much much later that you got “proof” that you were right about them being fantastic?

Is it too late to become friends now? Sad that there is so much lost time.

Dance – Collide:

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Dance, amazing animation, design, and story – Thought of You:

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Good visualization of our thoughts via technology – Could Have Been:

7 minutes well spent. =)

Wherever we are, something ordinary can become extraordinary. Starting with that inconspicuous paint set.

If I didn’t spend all my time dancing, maybe I would paint.

A desktop image originally from a lifehacker posting.

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It also reminds me of this P&G ad from a year ago:

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And this Subaru ad has the same concept:

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Gotta love parents. Happy belated Mother’s day, and happy early Father’s day!