Personal Narrative: My Personal Introspection

I can sum up my week with a quote from Batman Begins, “Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” Lots of falls both professionally and personally. I won’t bother you with the details – it’s all very boring – but I will say that I’m picking myself back up in part because of personal introspection caused by classwork. I now realize why I act the way I act, for the most part, and the first step in change is realization. Read my success recap for more information on this. I got my first 90 in school which was a super bummer to me, but instead of what I would have done before – lots of brooding and debate quitting because I ‘suck’ – I stopped and got real with myself. No one is perfect, I was bound to get less than 100 sometime, it really isn’t the end of the world. I’m like that harsh Japanese dad meme, “Pokémon Master? Why not Pokémon Ph-D?” I hold myself to stupid standards and when things go slightly awry, I panic. I have to be Super Perfect Cell (I swear I’ll stop with pop culture references). This lead to me think about Grit. I’m a pretty gritty person. …show more content…
I think I’m Jeff Bridges (last reference, I promise). However, I don’t have as much as I think I do. When I have a setback my natural response is flight not fight. I bail. I want to quit to mitigate any more damage. How is this gritty? It’s not. I have determination and perseverance in spades until the going gets toughIt all comes down, for me, to optimism. How do I cultivate a more optimistic mindset? Well thanks to this class I do remember I have to focus on my signature strengths, show more gratitude and reframe my problems. There were other ways, but these stuck with me the most. So, in regards to ‘getting back up’ I’ve realized my faults, now I have to make strides to change my habits. I would be a liar to say that I’ve made a 360 for change, but I have been making baby steps. Journaling and recognizing small snippets of happiness has