You Did IT. IT Does Not Define YOU!

Some  of us define ourselves.
Some of us allow ourselves to be defined by moments in time.

When you look in the mirror, you may see one thing.  When others look at you, however, they may see something totally different.

The problem in all of this is simple: 
The lens that is used when trying to pin down the explanation to our very existence, may not reveal our total picture.

For example:

• Through one lens, you may be a gifted artist.  Through another, you may be seen as someone throwing her life away chasing a dream.
  

• In your eyes, you may be a business owner.  Someone else may see you as a simple failure because your business only has one client.

Here’s what usually happens if we’re not careful:

For some reason, you decide to believe  ‘someone else’ instead of accepting what you see through your own looking glass.

The short of it, in the words of timeless hip-hop, is summed up with the following phrase :

                           Don’t believe the hype!
                                                         (In case you are curious, Public Enemy, 1988)

You’ve heard it before: Believe in yourself. Don’t live inside of the box that others build for you. BE YOU! 
Et Cetera, Et Cetera...

BUT, if I may….here’s where I’d like to push the envelope a little more.

In other words, now that we understand the importance of ourselves, let’s get a bit dirtier with this message.

Some of us are so critical of ourselves that we define ourselves by our past.  

Did you get that?

Forget the lens of others...many times, WE have the tendency to be the criticizers and the naysayers of ourselves.  WE make ourselves out to be the mistakes and bad choices that we have made.  No matter how good our hearts, deeds, and intentions have been for a majority of our lives, someone has conned us into believing that none of that matters against the backdrop of the things we used to do.  The negativity that most of the world chooses to focus its energies on, ignorantly becomes our focus and we simply stop there.

That turns into thoughts like this:

• “I am a failure” vs. “I made a goal and fell short, but learned so much in the process.”
  
  
• “I am a cheater” vs. “In my past, I made a mistake and learned from it.”
  
  
• “I have an addiction” vs. “I am in recovery, and will do everything in my power to stay clean.

 The problem? Our thoughts typically guide our beliefs, and subsequently, our practices (i.e. our actions)
If you are still reading this and nodding your head, then this is for you:

Newsflash: If you’ve got even an inkling of conscience about your past mistakes, then there is a strong chance that those actions do not have the power to construct the definition of who you really are.

Translation: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE DEFINED BY YOUR MISTAKES!

At this very moment, you may be reaping the consequences of poor decisions that you made once upon a time as, as we indeed reap what we sow. HOWEVER, that does not mean that the rest of your time living on this planet should be defined by those decisions or prevent you from seeing through to completion all of the the positive things you were uniquely designed to do.


Before you give up, and give in to the way that other folks (who really don’t know your entire story) see you….

And, before you decide to place a label on yourself just because of a past transgression, think of this:

What if the story of how you have overcome your addictions, your failures, and your ‘mess-ups’, becomes the very testimony that someone needs to hear?  What if your story is the message that makes them see that they are still capable of living their life’s purpose despite what they have done in the past?

Think about that...let it marinate...and get back to me.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again:  YOU MATTER.  YOU MATTER. #YouMatter

Stop hiding in the shadows of your past. Rise up! And move forward.

Cynae