WHO ARE YOU?

 “What comes to your mind when you are told to say who you are whether by another person or by yourself? Do you immediately think of your name, position or status in life? Or do you define yourself by your achievements, or the size of your bank account(s) or the caliber of friends you keep? Or the school you attend or the association to which you belong?

The question simply needs you to identify YOU – the person inside your skin. It’s asking you how you see yourself, what your self-image is and how self aware you are

It is important that you answer this question truthfully because you have only one life to live and to waste that life not knowing who you are is a tragedy, a crime against yourself. When the use of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. Abuse, as you know, is the abnormal or improper use of a thing or person. Therefore, without the knowledge of who you are, you will not only suffer self abuse, but people will abuse, mistreat and misuse you and you will think it is normal since you do not know any better. Self abuse is one of the most terrible things you can do to yourself

Knowing who you are helps you to set boundaries for your life and to control your thoughts and actions. It gives you a vision, a life dream. Vision is defined as the ability to wisely and creatively plan your future. It is a mental picture of what you want to achieve over a certain period of time. Having a vision gives you guidance and inspiration regarding what you are focused on achieving in the years ahead, it helps you to never lose sight of your greater purpose for existing, ultimately releasing the potent energy on your inside. You are able to set goals for your life. To have a daily routine, to determine what you should and should not do, where to go and where not to go, what to wear and what not to wear. It helps narrow your friendship choices to only those people who will add value to your life and will help you on your journey to fulfilment in life.

Do you know yourself? Or are you unsure of who you really are because many people have defined you in different ways? Do you have people constantly put you down because of your appearance or shape or size or skin colour or height or a slight deformity? Have you heard so many negative comments about yourself that you have also joined in putting yourself down? Perhaps your peers reject your friendly overtures because they believe you are not polished enough to belong to their clique and they often openly make fun and laugh at you. Probably your older  relatives, your teacher, guardian, or even your mother call you names like, “stupid”, “senseless”, “idiot”, saying things like “you will never amount to anything”, “nothing good can come out of your life” or “it is too late for you to ever make it”.

However, whenever these negative name calling go on, disapproval rises on your inside because something in you does not agree with these negative names. That is because no one has the right to define you. No one knows you better than you know yourself. You are the one who lives in your skin and mind 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Self discovery is a personal journey. This journey leads you to find your path in life. No one but you can help you find your path in life.

You cannot think or wish yourself into becoming you; you may even make mistakes and first discover who you are not, in order to know who you are.

Becoming you requires action. To start on this journey, you will need to regularly find a quiet place to be by yourself and prayerfully reach into your inner being in order to determine exactly what you think and feel, to take a sincere appraisal of your strength and weaknesses by the word of God and be ready to face the truth about yourself. This is not a once for all exercise, you must do it regularly to arrive at the answer you desire.