Becoming Yourself

Developing a Better You

Month: August 2024 (Page 2 of 2)

I Don’t Like This Post Either

August 10, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I don’t like this kind of post.

I follow different content providers for different reasons, but my motives are almost always self-focused—I want inspiration, information, and / or entertainment (and there’s nothing wrong with that). So when the people I follow pause their normal content to ask for support, I usually sigh. I shouldn’t, but I do. I’m working on it. These creators provide me with wonderful enrichment for little or no money. Why should I be bothered by them occasionally asking for support to help them continue to give me desirable content?

With full awareness of the irony, I’m hoping you feel the same way. For years, I’ve kept Becoming Yourself completely free with no ads, and I want to continue that way. But I do make my living as a writer. It’s how I pay the bills. If you’d like to support my writing while keeping Becoming Yourself free, here are some simple ways you can help:

1. BUY MY PUBLISHED BOOKS

I write a spooky monster mystery series called MONSTERIOUS. The books are short, can be read in any order, and are great for fans of Goosebumps, Scooby Doo, Stranger Things, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. While targeted for ages 8 to 12, they’re a good fit for anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, spooky thriller with lots of action, humor, and heart. They are available in all formats (paperback, hardcover, audiobook, e book) wherever you buy books. My fifth book, TRAPPED IN THE HORROR DOME, just came out this past Tuesday. For more info or to buy a book from your favorite retailer, click HERE.

2. SHARE MY RECENT POST ON INSTAGRAM AND / OR FACEBOOK

I recently posted a 50 second video of me talking about my latest book release. If you can like, comment, and best of all share this post, it would really help. Here is the INSTAGRAM post (you can easily share it to your story with the paper airplane icon). Here is the FACEBOOK post (you can easily share it to your page with the share button).

3. SIGN UP FOR MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER (AND GET A FREE ORIGINAL SHORT STORY)

At the bottom of each page of my website MattMcMann.com, you can subscribe to my free monthly newsletter. It has info on my books, my travels, and my author appearances around the country. As a thank you, you’ll receive one of my free spooky short stories.

If you’re still reading this, I’m very grateful. If you do any of the above, especially purchasing my books, I’m incredibly grateful! I’ll be back next week with more personal development content. Thank you so much for helping me take another step toward Becoming Myself.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

Find Healing by Sharing Your Weaknesses

August 3, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I recently published a post about being more transparent with my weaknesses. When I came across the following excerpt from the writings of Henri Nouwen, I decided to share it as a follow up on this theme of vulnerability in hopes that it helps you take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

Over the last few years I have been increasingly aware that true healing mostly takes place through the sharing of weakness. Mostly we are so afraid of our weaknesses that we hide them at all cost and thus make them unavailable to others but also often to ourselves. And, in this way, we end up living double lives even against our own desires: one life in which we present ourselves to the world, to ourselves, and to God as a person who is in control and another life in which we feel insecure, doubtful, confused, and anxious and totally out of control. The split between these two lives causes us a lot of suffering. I have become increasingly aware of the importance of overcoming the great chasm between these two lives and am becoming more and more aware that facing, with others, the reality of our existence can be the beginning of a truly free life.

Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

It is amazing in my own life that true friendship and community became possible to the degree that I was able to share my weaknesses with others. Often I became aware of the fact that in the sharing of my weaknesses with others, the real depths of my human brokenness and weakness and sinfulness started to reveal themselves to me, not as a source of despair but as a source of hope. As long as I try to convince myself or others of my independence, a lot of my energy is invested in building up my own false self. But once I am able to truly confess my most profound dependence on others and on God, I can come in touch with my true self and real community can develop.

As shared in the July 27, 2024 Daily Meditation by the Henri Nouwen Society. Text excerpts taken from “You are the Beloved” by Henri J.M. Nouwen © 2017 by The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust. Published by Convergent Books.

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