The Resume of the "Shadow Side"

Ever need to put together a resume, bio, or intro? Most people have, at some point in their careers. And no matter how resistant you are to the notion of boasting and bragging on paper, generally a resume will end up with spotlights on accomplishments, achievements, and good points. That is, if you really want the job, the gig, or the grant.
Just recently, I spent way too much time putting together an intro to post online in a recently-joined forum, which is part of an intensive online coaching curriculum called “Uplevel Your Business” by Christine Kane. My intro was replete with tales of hard work over the past two years since the loss of my corporate job, becoming a sole proprietor artist, awards I’d received, and some snaps of my work. I ended up with something that I was fairly proud of. Then I hit “send.” And felt like crud and pondered why it didn’t feel like “enough.”
The next day, I read some posts on the forum.  I wasn’t the only one with that old “average” feeling. In fact, several of the people on the forum (all women) admitted, no matter their accomplishments, to not feeling very special – even though their achievements appeared pretty impressive on paper.
Using pretty language and big words to describe my accolades, I showed that I am enough. But I stumbled, because of that dang shadow, saying that these mere words don’t tell the whole story, don’t show the underbelly. The pretty stuff hides the resume of the dark side. Who wants to see THAT, for Pete’s sake?

It’s been a few weeks now since that post, and I’ve kept that shadow in check – mostly. Going forward, I’ll keep that shiny resume polished, for sure. And I’ll notice that no matter how far I get, or how far any of my fellow sisters get, when it comes right down to it, most of us are plagued by the same things. We are equal in our ability to maintain a shiny side and a shadow side, no matter how far we get in life. Somehow knowing this makes the shadow a little bit less powerful. Knowing this makes the visit to the “Resume of the Shadow Side” a shorter trip every time.
P.S. I hope you enjoy the beautiful photography of Walter Hawn, a fellow student and author of “The Daily Photograph” blog and website.