Misalignment

Being compared to men was always higher praise; my youthful priorities were misaligned along multiple axes.
Tajja Isen

Mine were too. I had been taught that male, white, and dead were synonyms for Excellence. And I bought it. I thought (without thinking) that buying it was the price of admission.

Practice: Identify your synonyms. Is there any reason that Excellence can’t — or has to — look like you?

Related practices: Author’s Statement, Rough Drafts