Taking the Escalator: Be Your Best Self

Be Your Best Self

Ø Self - a person's essential being that distinguishes them from others

Background - We are who we are, and we will be who we strive to be (to the degree we are able) - However, when it comes to certain emotions, circumstances and situations, there may be slightly altered “versions” of ourselves – We are still who we are at our core, but there can be some variation with regard to our communication, expression, reactions and behaviors in different circumstances.

We will return to this topic but for now as a warmup, as a group participate in the following icebreaker designed just to get the group open and talking in a fun and relaxed manner:

Opening Icebreaker – Alter Ego’s – As a group, read each “alter ego” and its description one at a time. For each one, consider the following:

If you knew that someone in this group had this hidden identity, who would you pick? Make your best guess and keep it light-hearted a this is meant to be fun rather than confrontational or judgmental

· Secret Billionaire – This person has a large fortune that they do not speak of but rather choose to live a humble and modest lifestyle

· Crime Fighter by Night – This person is in this group now, but afterward when no one is looking, they go out in a masked outfit and fight crime with their hidden superpowers

· Hidden Genius – This person makes sure not to show their super intelligence to the group, but they are secretly inventing something in a lab somewhere that will change the world for the better

· Humble Hero – This person has a heroic past which involved saving lives, but the person never tells anyone about it and just keeps it a secret

· Undercover Android – Someone here is actually a robot sent here to study human interaction in therapy groups

· Privately Planning Politician – This person is planning to run for office one day to try to make some changes in the world, but for now they are not telling anyone about it

· Extroverted Introvert – This person may be on the quiet or reserved side here in group but outside of here they can take over the room and be the life of the party when they are in their element

· The Gentle Warrior – This person is calm, peaceful, sensitive, and nice here in group and never brags about being “tough” here, but you would not be surprised that they can kick some butt on the outside if it ever came down to it

· Covert Comedian – This person may be way funnier than everyone in the group realizes

· Secluded Star – One person in this group has a project in the works where they will soon be famous, who do you think it is?

Process

Ø Version - a particular form of something differing in certain respects from an earlier form or other forms of the same type of thing

In order to learn more about ourselves and how we express ourselves, and how we behave and cope, it can be helpful to identify and discuss different versions of our “self” when faced with various situations and emotions

Directions - As a group, do your best to describe yourself in these various scenarios: Consider how you look, act, react, communicate, behave, etc., for each one. As a group discuss each one and share your thoughts about yourself:

Happy me

“Free” me (no consequences or authority over your head)

Wise me

Sick me (physical)

Angry me

Vacation Me

Stress-free me

Sad me

Hurt me

Kind and generous me

Jealous me

Motivated me (aka Taking care of business me)

Insecure me

Confident me

Private me (at home alone or with only closest friends/family)

Brave me

Focused me

Lonely me

“Not taking care of myself” me

“Active in recovery” me

Relapsing me

Determined me

Ø If you would like to come up with some of your own, you can

Closing Process Questions

1. Which “me” that was discussed do you most strongly identify with?

2. Which versions of “me” discussed do you most want to avoid in your life?

a. What do you need to do to keep away from these?

b. What difficult or challenging areas in life are you making progress overcoming and how are you achieving that?

3. Which “me’s” discussed do you want more of?

a. What specifically can you do in order to increase this in your life?

b. What strengths do you have that can help you?

4. Finally, considering everything that has been discussed so far: Who is the real me? Or in other words, what is the real “you” all about – Who are you really?

a. Optional – If you can handle the feedback ask the group, what do you see in me?