It is said that we make eleven judgements about a person in the first seven seconds of meeting them. I do not know whether this is driven by our desire to compartmentalise them or contextualise them in relation to ourselves. Either way I do not like it – Being boxed I mean!
I hate introductions, I always appear so wishy washy. It might be that I don’t have an easily placed accent, have generic degrees and lots of careers, that leaves even my closest friends asking – “what Do you do – I never quite know?” But I suspect it is my desire for freedom and flexibility, coupled with the fear of being boxed, that makes me answer, “Everything possible!” It is true, I am an ideas person and I am as happy with a mitre saw as an embroidery needle which ever helps to achieve the result I want. I’m not a shopper, don’t do latest trends or television, more of an outdoorsy wellington girl.
While I am trying to contextualise my concept and skills, the rigidity of our economy just seems hell bent on compartmentalising me and my skills. The frustration is that I know – to market ourselves we need to find our ‘niche’, and focus on getting that word out to the market place in a clear and concise manner. This essentially means packaging myself in a box. The real issue, of course, is not climbing into the box – it’s being left there by those who wanted us neatly packaged in the first place!
Images: ‘I will not be boxed’ project ©Úna Curley15
If you like the ideas presented in this post or any of my other posts why not enquire about my ‘manipulationomics’ or other awareness building talks and workshops.
Úna