How to Be Yourself

This subject is one of the most-searched topics on Google in 2021…for a reason. Does anyone actually know the answer to this question? Ha! I wonder. But I want to learn and share what it has meant to find “me” in a world full of amazing people.

Only ” You” can be you

Sounds cliché, but it’s an undeniable fact. We may share personality and character traits, but there is only one combination of those things that makes “you” uniquely you. So if that’s the case, why do we look to other people to show us who we should be? Well that’s a dangerous question/statement. Did I just say that?

Yes, I did. Because I’m talking to myself before I would make that statement to anyone else. And I have found that comparison can be a killer when it comes to knowing yourself and learning how to just be you. We need to remember that the world doesn’t need a bunch of clones, but rather unique individuals with independent thoughts and creative ideas to solve the world’s problems. How can we achieve that if we’re looking to others to “model” ourselves after?

Going against the flow

As a child, I was always looking for ways to make my family happy. I wanted to see my mom smiling and my step-dad released from the weight of running a business at the end of each day. If that sounds like Pollyana idealogy, it most certainly was. I knew things were “off” in my family, but I had no idea just how out of whack things were. Some really weird stuff happened, but I thought it was normal, the expected outcome, my destiny, so to speak.

And then I got old enough to hang out with friends. Amy was my die-hard friend from childhood, whose family loved me (as best as they knew how) and whether they know it or not, showed me that real life was very different from what I experienced in my home. They were not perfect people, but I saw by watching their family dynamic that things could be different. Between experiencing Amy’s family, and a couple of other significant life events, I realized you don’t have to just go along with the crowd – whether they like it – or not.

Achieve your potential

I am undeservedly blessed with the relationship of a very wise woman. Not long ago, she was sharing about the status of her adult child who had been struggling. If she had any commentary, it was that she and her husband just wanted to see their son do well. Whoa! That was mind-blowing to me. They weren’t hoping and praying for their son’s financial or material success, but basically that he would “make it” in this life and find his purpose. Obviously parents want the best for their kids, but the “best” isn’t always what we hope for.

What I have learned about achieving potential is that you can only achieve it truly when you know what you’ve got to work with. Whether you write, draw, engineer, or create designs in your sleep, there is something in you worth developing. I’m stepping out here to tell you and me that we will only develop full potential when we realize what it is about us that makes us unique.

Where we go from here

The truth? I don’t know! LOL! But I’m listening and observing the queues. I need to go with what I know. I know that my mind is brilliant and full of ideas (so is yours!). I want to live each today as though it is the last…and I don’t mean “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. (thank you, Dave Matthews Band, we love you). I mean, I want to live today like there is no tomorrow, by fulfilling my purpose to experience life, learn from it, and share it with you.

I have talked about how I want to share the things I have already accomplished, but right now I do want to include that we can encourage each other through our “right now”.

With that said, I hope you’ll reply with comments and stay with me. All we really have is “right now”, and I want to participate in the moment. This life slips by quickly. Let’s make it count.

Blessing and Love,

Rachel