Armadillo is me

Today, at least, I'm an armadillo

I’m a relatively extroverted introvert. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of business networking — on top of a ton of holiday socializing. And it’s tapping me out! Can you relate…?

When I experience a particularly busy period of meeting with other people, I’ve sometimes joked that I go into “networking weasel” mode. Somehow though, this “weasel” characterization feels off; it’s not like I’m some shifty character or forcing interaction on people who don’t want to be with me.

Now, I happen to love asking what animal each person identifies with as an ice-breaker in large meetings where not everybody knows each other well, or I want us to get out of our business brains.

So today, I’d respond to my own prompt that I am an armadillo! This charming creature can roll itself up into a protective ball, which looks like a pretty amazing means of recovering one’s equilibrium.

And then after a while, the armadillo will open back up to the world and carry on about its business.

If you don’t find the armadillo all that prepossessing visually, did you know that the Portuguese word for armadillo is “tatu”? Cutest. Word. Ever. Eu amo tatus!

UPDATE: I realized overnight that I might well have let this post marinate a bit longer to achieve a better flavor. Since I’m not actually an armadillo, usually I’m not literally curling into a ball when I’m under stress. Some of the ways that I can get myself back in touch with my internal “arma-chill-o” include:

• taking a momentary pause, maybe even closing my eyes for a second or three to shut out the world’s stimuli and restore my connection with myself

• deep breathing for a minute or so, usually emphasizing a longer exhale than an inhale or perhaps employing the awesome “box breathing” technique. This involves using your hand to help you:

  • breathe in just through the left nostril for a count of four; then hold the breath inside for a count of four; then exhale just through the right nostril for a count of four; then hold your lungs empty for a count of four; then on the same cadence inhale through the right nostril, hold it in again, exhale through the left nostil, then hold empty again — and repeat that for as long as you’d like.

• turning up some great music and dancing to it all by myself for a few minutes

• request and receive a crushingly long hug from somebody who cares about me

• sit down on the couch and summon my two darling doggies for pets, which usually ends with them napping with their heads on my lap

Now I’m dying to know…right now, what animal do you identify with??

P.S. The original version of this post used the term “spirit animal.” However, since I have become aware that this is a regrettable appropriation of Native American culture, I’ve adjusted the terms used above. I deeply regret any offense that I may have caused, and promise to be more conscientious going forward.