Oh I can identify with taking out anger and frustration on those closest to me. Why do I do that? Because my husband is the one I feel safest around. I am safe to be myself, and I know he will always love me. But sometimes I take that for granted and instead of using it to make myself better (for me and for him), I am just mean

I begin to examine my assumptions or expectations usually only when they come into conflict with other people’s. It’s the only time I notice them!

We hide things from ourselves because they are too hard to deal with. Psychological defenses are something everyone practices and they are developed at such a young age that we don’t know (or remember) life without them. More often than not, people don’t see things because they don’t want to. Having a “fuzzy brain” is a perfect example of this. Ever feel like there’s so much white noise going on in your head that you can’t think? What are you trying to think about? Your mind is probably trying to protect itself from it.

I think many carry the bitterness without asking why because they don’t know they carry it. Some people think it’s bad or evil to be angry, so they tell themselves never to be angry and convince themselves that they never get angry. But even God gets angry! It depends entirely on what you do with that anger.

I like that link to Phil’s 20 Questions. I’m going to save those. It’s an interesting concept to do a mid-year review of one’s self. We do it for business, why not for our personal lives?

I enjoy learning about myself. It helps me to shed the qualities I don’t like and concentrate on building up the ones I do like. How can one become a better person, and live the life one desires, without knowing one’s self?

I love reading your blog. Even if I don’t participate in the conversation, I always think about the questions you ask. Sometimes they are easy to answer, other times… not so much! But those are the ones I really want to concentrate on.