If you are endeavoring to be someone you are not, you are missing a whole universe laying inside you intact. We live in the world of trends, hence our entire lives are spent running wildly after them. In the making of yourself up to the standards of people to win acceptance, we have paid the price of genuine. We’ve lost our souls. We hide behind a fictitious persona to please others, mimicking their lives to get accepted and called cool.
Know that this is the biggest fallacy you probably have ever fallen into. Cool isn’t mimicking already made trends, cool is being a trend setter. Now to break the stereotypes and introduce new trends, you have to have enough self-esteem in you. With the power of high self-esteem, you can reach the new horizons and change the entire lives of those around you.
Below are a few things to remind yourself that can help you reclaim your confidence and empathy for yourself.
- Only You Can Pull The Strings of Your Life
The temptation to copycat, kneel down for ease will always confront you but you have to listen to the inner voice. Don’t let a weak moment force you make bad decisions. You will end up turmoil of compromise.
Remind yourself that the only person truly worth of holding the strings of your life is you. Only you should have the control of your life. Instead of copycatting the patterns of this world, renew your mind and transform your life the way you really want.
- Don’t Be Afraid of Conflict, Embrace It
Fear of the unknown is real. It’s not easy to step into a totally new situation not knowing what’s going to happen next. Get used to all the eyes rolling on you. Know that future is only uncertain, not bad. You make future.
Make a resolution and stand firm on it. Soon the same people will start appreciating and copying you. After all, you are not a set of labels, you are you.
- Listen to Yourself
Running after the trend will make you stop listening to yourself. It will cut you off to your roots. This exactly is the point where you need to take a break and turn back in the quest of your true self. Have a glance inside of you, ponder if this is what you really desired. It’s crucial to recognize your identity as who you are and who you have grown into.
Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am. Parker J. Palmer
- Your Sense of Identity Drives Your Behavior
If you are confused about who you are and going through a low self-esteem, your will end up degrading yourself. Nothing about you will make sense to you. This will make you transform yourself into what everyone around you thinks of you, be it destructive. People will become your reference to winning.
In this crisis of self-esteem, what you need to do is to look for accurate mirrors. Find people who truly love you, for they will never want to change you into what others hold for you. Consume yourself in what gives you energy.
- You Already Are What You Want to Be
The very first step in reclaiming your lost spirit is to believe that you already are what you want to be. All you need is a little carving. Think like Michelangelo who said,
I saw the angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free.
Refine your thoughts, question your false assumptions and set yourself free!
- Keep it Real
St. Thomas who famously wrote,
If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not, it will destroy you.
Swimming in the pool of your mistakes will only drown you. Instead of living in the past calling yourself sum of mistakes you should appreciate your mistakes to build a bridge to show your true identity. Remember, you will have stones in your way but it depends on you, either you make a bridge out of it or a wall.
We all give up our identities in the pursuit of love and happiness. We get scared showing your real face to people will make you alone. Know that this never ends well. Don’t be apologetic about who you are. Your color, career, social class and love life do not define you.
Set your priorities right. Give honor to yourself. Stay happy in your own skin. While haters are going to hate, you will find a lot of others welcoming you in