Knowing Who You Are Helps

"There's nothing more badass than being who you are."
~Darren Criss

Happy thing of the Day: Changing self-defeating behavior. Pg. 198

Who are you? What kind of person are you? If Webster's dictionary needed a definition to put next to your name, what would it say?  Realizing who you are is a huge part of being hopeful and positive.  It is so difficult to be positive when you are trying so hard to be someone you really aren't.  Putting on an act to satisfy others only leads to massive amounts of discouragement. It's so hard to follow your dreams and live up to your potential when you are wearing a mask.  All that mask can to is stifle the person you really are, and that person wants to jump out and be seen. That self defeating behavior is holding you back!

In high school I made a discovery about myself.  I was trying to be someone I was not, and it was holding me back.  I was trying to fit in with a group who didn't need me to put on a mask, they really did enjoy the "real" me (at least most of them did). Going through my "tool kit" from this group (called Life 101), I found this list that my teacher Wendy had us write.  We had to write a list of how we define ourselves. We of course analyzed it afterwards, but I vividly remember while we were writing I was sitting next to her, and when I wrote "attached" she thought that would've been higher up on my list (it was number 16).  She was right, it should have been, and we had to write our top 5.  At the time mine were :

1.Dancer
2. Musical
3.Unique/Creative
4.ORANGE (written in all caps)
5. Attached

She knew me well enough to realize that I wasn't very proud of the fact that I was so attached to things and people.  She helped me realize that it was a good thing, something I needed to embrace just a little more.  Because I got attached to people, it meant I could be closer to them, have deeper relationships, and that my being attached meant I could have more life-long friendships (of which I have quite a few from this group).  She used to call me "Sunshine" because I was always so bubbly and had quite a lot of energy, and apparently I could turn anyone's frown upside down.  According to many of my friends, I still have this super power.  And for so long, I tried to stifle it behind a mask because some people thought I needed to calm down on the bubbly-ness.  Doing so put me into a HUGE ditch, one that took years to climb out of.  Some amazing people helped me do this- Wendy, some great friends from this group, and God.  I learned to lean on those who appreciated and valued who I really was.  I was bubbly, energetic, and I wanted deep, meaningful friendships in my life.

So I decided as part of being positive and finding that hope I have been longing to seek out, I should probably figure out my top 5 again:

1. Follower of Christ
2. Attached
3. In Love
4. Future Teacher
5. Orange/ Bubbly Beyond Belief!

What are your top 5? What will help you live your life to the fullest? Who are the "Wendys" and other friends in your life to point out that something you think is negative, is really something bright that shines inside of you that you need to share with the world? Find those things and let them scream out of your body and echo forever.  Being you can give you the hope you are seeking, I know that it has always helped me.

p.s. Thanks Wendy!