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Free to be Me

Young Woman Standing with Arms Stretched OutWhen we feel there are no solutions to our problems, we strike out, hang on to resentment and blame others for our difficulties or distress.  Or we condemn ourselves.

Remaining in that mindset, however, takes away our personal power and keeps us locked in a never ending cycle of bitterness and anger.

Our focus remains on what we can’t do and not on what we can do.

We are a combination of many things: DNA, personality, childhood experiences and the fundamental beliefs we put in place while growing up. We form perceptions of who we think we are based on how we interpret our experiences.

Everyone will be affected differently by life events. While one thing may be an irritant to one person, it can be a positive experience to another.

Completing the stories from our past give us the opportunity to take a more measured look at what happened in our growing up years and how that continues to influence our present day life. Some things made us feel little and insignificant while others motivated us to become the best we can.

As we challenge and speak to those things that made us feel inferior and worthless, we have the opportunity to heal old wounds and put to rest the intense emotions associated with them. Our view of ourselves, the world and who we can become is expanded. We can remember the good times as well as the bad and those that helped and encouraged us. Choosing to let go of our pain and grievances allows us to create a new and positive chapter for our life story.

We are not our past. Our past does not define who we are unless we allow it to. Completing our stories help build a more positive bridge from the past to the present.   It enables us to take charge.

Young Woman Standing Over a Car Engine Bay Checking An Oil DipstickLife can be hard. It is easy to fall into the trap that we are entitled to a happy life and that somehow others are responsible for that. But when we buy into that belief system, we relinquish our personal power and freedom. We are no longer in charge of our lives – someone or something else is.

We are free to choose how we respond to whatever is happening. During the tough times, we can learn how to be resilient, flexible and compassionate. We have the opportunity to think in more positive and productive ways. It is where we accept our vulnerabilities and work with them instead of hiding or denying them. In those moments we recognize our need for God and reach out to Him for strength, hope and courage.

It is during the tough times, when everything is going wrong, that we have the opportunity to become more of who we are than we could at any other time. It is where we stretch and reach higher and grow.

A Letter of Affirmation

Take a piece of paper and write a letter to yourself. Write about all the things you have accomplished and all the people who have helped you. Include the talents and abilities you have. Write about the ways you want to improve and grow. Complete your letter with a faith statement of how you want to live your life and use the wonderful gifts you have been given. Read this letter every day as an affirmation of all the things you can achieve and become.

Marlene Anderson

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To Receive a Free Consultation for putting together a Personal Plan of Action for yourself,  fill out the contact form beside this blog or send me an e-mail.  I am also available for speaking engagements, retreats or teaching workshops for your church, clubs or women’s groups on a variety of topics that affect our lives.

 

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