Getting Real

I would like to say first, that this is a book that everybody, aboslutely every single person should read, becuase, as the title says, it teaches us to BE REAL. I feel that this is something really hard to achieve in a society like the one I live in, the guatemalan society, since everybody takes all the feedback too personal. This book shows us to say things in the moment, without holding everything back and in the end causing much trouble than it should. I think that here at the MPC, we are definitely improving on the getting real part even though it's tough. Learning to take feedback, I think it's very important in our lives. It's true that sometimes we're not gonna listen to the words we were expecting to, but there's no need to make a big deal out of it.

In this book, Susan Campbell, the author, speak about 10 TRUTH SKILLS, which I would like to share...

1. EXPERIENCING WHAT IS

Being sure of not confusing what you think or interpret, with what it's actually going on.

2. BEING TRANSPARENT

Being transparent means being completely open, being yourself without pretending.

3. NOTICING YOUR INTENT

This means, that we have to communicate to relate with the other person, not to gain control of the conversation but to learn about the other person.

4. GIVING AND ASKING FOR FEEDBACK

When we say, giving feedback, it means to verbally give positive or negarive advice or verbally ask for it.

5. ASSERTING WHAT YOU WANT AND DON'T WANT

This basically means, asking for what you want and not being afraid to do so.

6. TAKING BACK PROJECTIONS

Taking back projections is simply, stop for a second and think about your qualities, especifically, hidden qualities. It's so much easier to mention the qualities of people close to us, but we never think about our own. I feel like this is an important step in order to GET REAL.

7. REVISING AN EARLIER STATEMENT

I can relate this one to the last one, becuase they both are some sort of reflection about yourself. In this case reflecting on a specific event.

8. HOLDING DIFFERENCES OR EMBRACING MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES

It's very important to be ourselves all the time, no matter who we're with, and let our true personality loose.

9. SHARING MIXED EMOTIONS

Most of the time we are afraid of telling the truth, scared that we're going to hurt the feelings of the other person, but most of the times as well, it's much better to be open and just be honest about how you feel about him/her.

10. EMBRACING SILENCE

In other words, this means, appreciate the silence, sometimes, even though we feel that the silence is kind of awkward, most of the time it helps for a more open conversation later.