How to be you is about discovering and being your true self. Your life is lived based on what you were conditioned to growing up under the influence of those having authority over you. Your life and your perception of the world were shaped for you. Now, as a teenager or adult, you may challenge or question what you have been taught. In many situations, parents or family members expect you to live or behave in a way that aligns with what they believe is correct. Yet, it may not be what appeals to you. It’s not what you desire, and they criticize and nag at you, making you feel miserable and uncertain. Then some make demands of you to do or be something that you are not.
SELF ESTEEM
As a result of this pressure, your self-esteem is called into question. Some folks rebel, while others desire to please others. You do things to please others at your own expense. Holding to family tradition by becoming a lawyer may make Papa proud. But it creates animosity and regret because your passion was for being a schoolteacher. When you expressed your passion, you were told that tradition is important, or that being a teacher does not pay well. You caved in and are now living a life that feels unfulfilling and miserable.
There are many situations similar to the above. Some are worse, where you are made to feel inferior. You are told you are not good enough or lack talent or skills, and slowly you believe what others say about you. Your sense of self-worth is diminished, and you believe you are less than what you truly are. You are frustrated, angry, unhappy, and just plain miserable. You are attempting to live life through the eyes and opinions of others. They are not you! And they have no way of knowing what is best for you. Only you know based on your desires and passion.
YOUR LIFE
It is your life to live. You are a divine expression of All That Is, manifested in the physical to experience a full life based on your dreams and desires. You have the gift of Free Will, which is God’s Will, provided you do no harm. Your life is your responsibility and no one else’s. Every individual is responsible for themselves. Do not relinquish your responsibility to anyone.
Each expression of your divine Creator has been given the gift to co-create a life as they please. Each individual has different likes, interests. desires, talents, and skills. This was meant to be. Your life has a soul plan. You have a specific purpose to awaken to and fulfill. Your purpose does not have to be dynamic, but your gift of intuition, going within, listening, and feeling the nudges that guide you are blocked when you live by the demands of others.
PASSION
Passion is the key to becoming the true you as God intended. Find something in life that you are passionate about and do it. Keep doing it until the passion runs out. And then find something else that you are passionate about and keep doing it. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
When you live with passion, you are in harmony with your Creator because you are living a full, loving life that brings joy and happiness into creation. However, you will face obstacles and that is normal. The desire to continue moving forward, not giving up must be the driving force that keeps you going. Do not listen to naysayers. You know what you desire for life, and only you can make it happen no one else.
Some folks in life may have been beaten down to the point where they believe all is lost. False beliefs that it is too late, you are too old, or too poor prevent one from bettering their life. Or the thought of upsetting mom or dad, or grandfather, is unbearable. Breaking free from beliefs of this type may be impossible for those who lack the desperate will to be your own person, living life as you choose. It boils down to the fact: how badly do you desire to live life your way?
SELF DISCOVERY
For this author, self-discovery came when I falsely believed that I was too old for something better. I believed I had wasted my adult life and was in my mid-fifties, disabled, feeling hopeless with a desire to end it all. At the time of this pity party, I fell asleep. Upon waking, I felt the deep truth that I still wanted a life that meant something. I was not sure as to what that would be. Heck, I was so numbed down from living a life pleasing others that I did not even know who I was or wanted to be.
I began taking an inventory. Searching for what good I did in life and how it makes me feel. Surprisingly, I remembered a few events in my youth. Thinking I was not such a bad person as I currently believed. More remembrance came to light, creating a feeling of hope for myself. Eventually, I wrote out what type of person I desired to be moving forward. And if all was possible, what would I desire to do with the remainder of my life?
What I discovered and felt adamant about was that I did not want my life to end. I wanted something better to show for my being here on earth. This story is more involved for this article; however, my old life brought me to a make-or-break point. It cemented the desire to move forward to achieve what I was looking for.
Be strong, be tough, hold on to the truth that you are a divine expression of our Creator, you are worthy, you have purpose, you are loved, and you are free to live a full life as you deem fit.