Robin Meade wants you to be a Bitch

Subject:

Comments:
: Somebody's acting like a bitch... and apparently it's a good thing! From former NBC5 news anchor Robin Meade in the latest issue of Chicago's Michigan Avenue Magazine: : : ............ : Bitch Session : HLN anchor Robin Meade shares how being mean can be a critical step to happiness. : LET'S GO on a bitch recognition campaign. : That's right. Get your hands in the air for the biatch (or biatcho for the fellas) that lives deep within you. : Why would we do that? : Come with me for a sec: Let's call my inner bitch, Meanie Meade. : Back when I anchored the news here in Chicago (1995 to 2001), before my days at HLN (I anchor Morning Express with Robin Meade 5 to 9 AM), I had little use for Meanie. I tucked her away and displayed other parts of my personality I thought were more palatable to my fellow Midwesterners: Sweetie Meade. Creative Meade. Funny Meade. Karaoke Queen Meade. Deep-dish Pizza Meade. But never, ever, Meanie Meade. She was to be silenced over in the corner, left with her dagger eyes and pursed lips, tapping her fingers impatiently. : Here's why: Back when Chestnut Street was my home and Chicago news was my meal ticket, my driving force in life was to be "liked." Can you empathize? It bothered me to no end if someone made it known they didn't like me, whether they were a coworker or a viewer. I'd ask myself, What's wrong with me?, instead of trying to look at the issue in a balanced way, like, Hey, I wonder what energy I give off that repels that person, or I wonder what they recognize in me that they actually dislike about themselves. I calculated my personal value on whether other people held me in high esteem. I placed the viewers' opinion of me on a pedestal, thus devaluing my own opinion. In other words, it was more important to me what others thought about me than what I thought about myself. : I also shape-shifted at will to gain the favor of whoever was defining what made a good news anchor/reporter. Credible? OK. Stuffy suits? Check. Short hair/long hair? I'll get on that. Happy talk? I'll polish my charm. You get the idea. I was trying so hard to be a people-pleaser that I started to tuck little parts of my personality away that I thought might stop me from getting where I wanted to go. As a result, I started to lose my authentic self. : That's when I started to have panic attacks. : My first one grabbed me by the throat one Saturday night as I sat down to anchor the news. After that, I feared it would happen again and plague me every time I got on the air. They kept coming at the start of a news show like clockwork. Why? Because that's when I most feared them. I was afraid my bosses would see, I would get into trouble, I would lose my job, I would lose my condo! My fears got more irrational the more the attacks showed up. : Suddenly I didn't feel I could do my job, and I told my hubby I wanted to quit. He wasn't having it, and hunted out a Chicagoan who helped people with personal transformations. : Can you see the benefits of not always being likeable or agreeable? That's what had to be spelled out for me, in order for me to find true selfconfidence. : Here's my little confidencebooster for you: In order to truly love and accept yourself, you must accept every facet of your being, even the parts you'd rather tuck away. : Let's recognize the part of you that takes a stand when people are walking all over you. Or the shushed part of you that tells it like it is without fear of repercussions. Or the corner of your personality that isn't likeable all the time, but is, above all else, respected. : Love that part, and you are on your way to true self-esteem. : All hail the inner bitch. : By Kate Templin : Photograph by Eric Hausman

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

Enter verification code: