#10: Who Am I?

For a long time I really struggled with knowing who I was. I got to a point where I forgot who I was. It was a long journey to find myself. Then I started working with a group that was all about changing your mindset. So I dived in and learned all I could. I was like a sponge, soaking up all this information. Then came the fun part. Applying it to me and my life. Applying it to my way of thinking. I realized that I couldn't be who I wanted to be if I didn't recognize the things I was. How can you be something if you don't know what you want to be? How can you attain a goal if you don't have one yet? And so I decided to make a list of who I thought I was. For a while it was a blank page, I put a lot into seriously thinking about this. And in the beginning my mindset was, "What do I need to change in my life to make me a better person? To make me wonderful? To make me somebody to be loved?"

What I learned, however, is that I was already those things. The negative, the things I hated at the time, was like a coat that I just simply needed to take off. The positive was already there. Granted it still took a lot of work to take away things I didn't like, but it gave me a new outlook. It gave me hope. How easy is it to just take something off. Imagine carrying weights on your arm. Is it simpler to just remove some instead of adding more on?

Here is my list of the things I believe I am. Try writing one yourself. It will be an eye opener for you. It will give you quite a bit of encouragement to continue facing each day with courage. And it really doesn't matter who else sees what you are. All that really matters is how YOU see who you are.

• I am love. I have to be love because I love people.
• I am fun. I love to be with people and I have a good sense of humor.
• I am strong. I have been able to master many trials and challenges in my life.
• I am life. I am here, breathing, heart beating. I can share my life and I can give life to people.
• I am good. I have the gift and power to be like Christ.
• I am my goals. My goals created the person I want and need to be.
• I am my feelings of positive self-worth. I am who I have created.
• I am a piece of artwork. my life is a canvas. I have had the opportunity to paint over anything I do not want to stay. It is still there, but nobody knows it unless I tell them. It's like a little boy painted in a tree in a picture. And then an artist painting leaves over the tree. Nobody can see him, but he's still there.
• I am beautiful. I can use my beauty to create beautiful things.
• I am brave. I can face things that aren't always fun to face, but I can do it anyway.
• I am light. I can make the way brighter for myself and for other people who are searching for their light. I can light their candle, and still keep my light too. They will be able to share it with others.

I wrote this list in 2008. Two years later, I have learned much more about myself. If I were to write a new list, I would imagine it would be pages longer. I am glad I know who I am.