I’ve always had a big personality. I’m pretty extroverted. I talk A LOT. I have a million ideas that I think are amazing all of the time. I want to share them and help others and see everyone succeed. It’s kind of my thing.
However, I get that it doesn’t work for everyone. I’ve dated guys who’ve told me to tone it down. Talk less. Be more introverted. Behave. I remember one of my last shifts at my old job staring at the floor, afraid to make eye contact with anyone or engage in conversation because I needed to obey so a man would talk to me again. I would go home and sob myself to sleep because I wasn’t myself. All of the things that make me who I am were being chipped away to please a person who didn’t love me anyway. A few years ago, I had a good friend who told me that I intentionally dominated the room. I didn’t really understand. I don’t think I do; I just act like myself and I don’t always realize that I’m running people over with my “me-ness.”
But I accepted that being a big personality means accepting certain things. I’ll never have a lot of friends. I always scare people off. I’ll never have a mate. No man wants a workaholic woman who wants to succeed at twelve things and raise a family and Crossfit and spend her life pitching stories and creating ways to grow her business and never, EVER stops talking. I tried for YEARS to fix it. If I could just stop talking so damn much, take a backseat, stop being so open and happy. Change into the contrite woman who smiles and nods and obeys and doesn’t take over the room with her thoughts and ideas. Then I’d meet a guy. Then I’d have more friends. But I realized I’d never be happy. I’m the difficult woman. The opinionated, headstrong, smart ass. I need to be myself. If I am, I’ll attract the right friends, the right lover. Maybe I’ll always be alone and kind of isolated, but at least I’m being myself. I get that my personality is almost impossible to love, but I love it & maybe that’s enough.
But at work, that was where I always felt at home. I’m a salesperson; big personalities are encouraged. My boss back home encouraged my zany ideas, my over talkative nature. But here, it’s not like that. I can always tell that my “me-ness” is not an asset. It’s a liability. I’m not the right company material. My results are, but me, I am not. But I pretend it’s okay, I love my job. No one needs to like me, just respect me. But today, I was gently told that my overbearing personality detracts from others. I dominate. And for the first time in a long time, I began to think that maybe being myself isn’t the best thing at all. Maybe I need to change into someone quieter. Someone less headstrong. Someone less chatty. Less of a temper. Someone not like me. Maybe I am just too much and my ideas are too much and I talk just too damn much and no one can be around me for long periods of time because I am too much. Maybe I just need to stop marching to my drum and stop. Stop challenging. Stop talking. Stop trying to think outside of the box. Accept the box.
I’ve never really felt like being me was a liability, but maybe it is. Maybe it’s okay to tone down my personality and just not be so much. Maybe then I’ll make more friends. Maybe then I’ll find a mate because I’m not so over the top. Isn’t that what women are supposed to want? Maybe I’m just the problem. So, how to correct and evolve into someone a little less dominant. A little less extroverted. A little less…me.
I’m not really sure. But maybe I can’t keep bucking the status quo & taking pride that I don’t fit in.
Or…maybe that is complete bullshit.
Maybe my “me-mess” will be a liability. Maybe I’ll die alone with my cat and no husband because I’m too much for a person to deal with. Maybe I can learn to step back and find a balance, but I’m always going to be the person that talks too much and gets way too excited, cares too much and rambles on about the latest zany idea that I think is super amazing. But I can’t be me unless I’m me.
So, my goal is to find the balance between being myself and rowing the line. Embracing who I am while also listening to feedback. And I won’t throw a god damn pity party when another person reminds me that I’m just too much. Yes, yes I am. But to my good friends, my girls, and most of my coworkers, MHC is just enough. But the most important thing is that I think I’m just enough, and I like who I see in the mirror. Because that’s the person I truly have to answer to.
The Misadventures of MHC 
I really don’t know what to tell you but this post made me sad, I just hate when someone has to compromise on his freedom, we face that everyday, at least when we work for somebody or a company, we are “dictated” things and I hate that a lot even though I love my sales job and I know I’m good at it, but the idea of having somebody superior to me dictating things I see it humiliating, and this is a job, how about someone being compromised to change himself to fit? excuse my french but FUCK FITTING, we only live once, and you know? I know being single for a while is harsh but you have a bless that you maybe don’t know about, it’s that you are free to go out and meet people and date them until you find the right one, and believe me, this right one will come, don’t compromise, FREEDOM is priceless, no one deserves to let go of it for them, if Mr. right doesn’t come at least you are yourself, you have qualities you didn’t mention in the article and you only focused on the negative or what you think are issues, but everyone has issues, at least ur issues are not real issues, they are assets some women die to have.
I usually don’t give a fuck, but I wanted to write this comment cuz u’re my friend, I don’t mean to lecture or anything, just saying what I felt when I read this post.
all the best my friend, just be patient and don’t give up freedom.
I love all feedback! Thanks!
I think we all go through spurts where we wonder if we should fit in or swim upstream. I know I’m a pretty dominant human and I don’t see it as negative. But there will always be that internal fear that you aren’t good enough before you tell that voice to be quiet lol.
I see adapting a result and not a procedure, when someone deserves our love and we really want them in our life we will work on finding common grounds and find ways to adapt to their pace and them to ours, until then, if you ask me, I don’t think it’s worth it.