Tag Archives: Authenticity

Hyping Myself Has Become Exhausting

There was a great article by Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post concerning our culture of social media self-promotion.  She particularly takes issue with what she terms the “humble-brag.”

“As in: ‘I looked like a wet mop the day I got the Pulitzer.’ Something like that.”

She’s onto something. I’ve felt it for years. Having to constantly post pictures of cool locations I happen to be in. And I am fortunate indeed to live in a beautiful waterfront community near NYC.

Of course, my husband and I worked our tails off to provide this lifestyle for ourselves and the kids, but that’s not what I generally reveal. No. I take photos of the gorgeous surroundings, with a caption about working from the beach today (humble-brag). Or Instagram a photo of Times Square USA, as if I own the place (humble-brag). While I’m regularly in New York because it’s my hub city and a place where many of my clients are, I don’t own a home there any more (humble-brag), much as I’d like to have a little pied-å-terre.

The whole thing has started to give me a headache. Like Parker, my parents taught me if you had money, you didn’t talk about it. And the people who did, well, they were really broke.

I think that’s accurate.

Going to be trying to break this habit. After breaking the original one.

Ferguson, Police Uniforms, & Keeping The Peace

The Ferguson, Missouri debacle might not have been prevented, but it’s a fact that what the police wore exacerbated matters. This video is about how what we wear influences how we are perceived and how we feel ourselves. It’s important to consider dress and adornment when speaking and presenting on stage and on camera.