Letting go of preconceptions -- ours and those of others

. . . when we are trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up it is dangerous to bring preconceptions of ourselves -- fears, biases, or negative ideas about ourselves -- into the process.  When we allow ourselves to succumb to fears, biases, & self-criticism, we paralyze ourselves. We are unable to see new possibilities, and therefore to make positive changes in our lives . . . to become a life change artist, we need to see how others see us, and make a decision about whether others' views of us are consistent with how we see ourselves, or how we would like to see ourselves.

~page 110-111, Becoming a Life Change Artist:  Seven Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life by Fred Mandell, Ph.D., & Kathleen Jordan, Ph.D.