Becoming Who You Are Meant To Be

One of the hardest parts about becoming who we are meant to be is realizing who we are not.  Our identity is often trapped in the past.  We think because we have made mistakes, or because we have made the same mistake repeatedly, that that is who we are.  We start to identify ourselves by those past mistakes rather than the person we truly are.  We fail to recognize the greatness that lies just beneath the surface of us all trapped behind a huge wall of the untruths we trap ourselves in.

Our past is our past.  There is nothing we can do to change it.  If we choose to remain in the past, it will certainly dictate our future.  If we stay stuck in the past, we live by what we have done, not by who we truly are.  This is what brings about so much depression, anxiety, feelings of unworthiness, and anger in some people.

The past is exactly that—the past.  Its only real purpose is to teach us.  We can remember mistakes made in order to learn from them and so we can do better the next time around.  The tough times from our past serve to make us stronger as we move into our future.  The people and things we may have lost in our past remind us of how lucky we are to have the people and things we have in our lives now.

This does not mean we do not remember our past.  As the old saying goes, “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”  What this does mean is that while we remember the past, we are not held hostage by it.  It does not identify who we are as a person.  Our past, when properly applied, gives us building blocks for the future.  It allows us to learn so the next time we are faced with a challenging situation, we can draw strength from having been through what we have to overcome obstacles now. 

 When we refuse to let the past hold us hostage, the future becomes a much brighter place. A place filled with hopes and dreams.  A place we look forward to.  We envision ourselves achieving greatness, making a difference, and leaving an impact and a legacy in our wake.