One of the most fascinating aspects of human existence is our ability to grow and evolve. Throughout every part of your life, you can change who you are in substantial ways. One way that we do this is by redefining ourselves – a process where new facets come out as other parts recede into the background or become obsolete altogether. This constant process helps us adjust to our environment and social changes without fully giving up on what makes us unique individuals.
There’s a story I heard Jim Carrey tell about his dad and how he never took a risk regarding his career due to fear. Jim said that his dad was the funniest person he ever met. He was a musician, comedian and entertainer. However, his dad felt irresponsible if he pursued his passion because he had a family to take care of. Instead, he got a job as a CPA and at the age of 50 he was fired. Jim remembers how sad his dad was. He then realized something.
Jim said, “I learned that you can fail at what you don’t love, so you might as well do something you love. There’s really no choice to be made. Take a chance at Being loved or hated for who you really are, or you’re gonna have to kill who you really are, and fall into your grave grasping onto a character who you never really were.”
As kids, I think we all had certain ideas about who we thought we were going to be. This idea is heavily influenced by who we think the people around us think we should be. We make assumptions about what we think our parents, our community and society wants from us, and then we go out and try to live up to these imaginary expectations. At some point we have a decision to make…to redefine ourselves and become the person we know deep down we’re meant to become.
Here are some bullet-points that I try to live by:
- Faith Over Fear – faith will clear out the fear and lead you to a much better place than fear ever could.
- Radiate Gratitude – when you’re in a grateful state, you can’t be angry, sad, or fearful. This will help you keep you at a high vibration
- Permission – give yourself permission to bet on yourself and take the first step in accomplishing your goals a reality.
I remember as a kid I had my whole life planned out. I was going to be an orthopedic surgeon. Two years into pre-med I realized this dream was someone else’s dream, or at least expectations other’s had for me. Of course this was a huge assumption. Today, I’m obviously not a surgeon but I will tell you I’ve never regretted listening to my gut and not going to medical school. I’m still redefining myself every day…and I’m not finished.