Fighting Identity Crisis

The problem with many of us is that we tend to draw a lot of who we are from the opinions created by other people of who they think we are or should be, you get! I mean how many times have you ever found yourself changing a thought or idea or goal or plan or project or whatever it is you were meaning to do just because someone came along and told you otherwise! Don't get me wrong it's great to hear out other people's opinions and criticisms but many are the times that 'other people' have been wrong. Be mentored by the best but always be true to who you are.

It's easy to become programmed by society's i-think-you-should-do-it-this-way or say-it-that-way, until at the end of it all you really have no idea what you wanted to do in the first place, and if you do manage to glimpse at your original thought, doubt is all that will direct you henceforth. We somehow start to think that we should look like so and so, talk/sing/laugh like this or that person, we cease being our good old selves to being clones. Imagine the greatness that oozes out of us when we remain true to ourselves, of course for the good of mankind, amazing and mind boggling!

Let's look at our childhood, a sort of research or flashback, we grow up as our personalities form, the experiences of life shape our characters, that's my take. Then we grow up being at least sure of who we will be, until we land in the world called school or corporate(some), and we start finding ourselves being made to feel unsure of ourselves by either a non passionate teacher or mean classmates/colleagues or cruel bosses or jealous friends and sadly unconcerned parents.

We grew up having these goals and likes that just made us move and then the world tells us, 'hey am sure you feel like yours is the best idea ever, but sorry it's not, it cannot be done, you shall never be able to do that or become that, why don't you keep quiet and let the experts tell you how it's done or said'. We become crushed, broken, unsure of who we are and finally we crumble.

We become subjected to living a dejected life just because we succumbed to 'societies' opinions of who it thinks we are or should be, life becomes tasteless, lifeless, and finally we loose our identity. How sad it is for a parent to watch a child who grew up with so much life just crumble into nothingness, that's when you hear phrases like, 'he/she had so much potential, they had so much going for them, the future was bright until...'. The experiences we have in life are there to mould us but with not so stable a support system, those same experiences crush the best of us.

Maybe one day I will write an article on how to rise up from that place of defeat, but day by day with the Lord's help is the way to go. Many of the great men and women who had their dreams/goals/plans just brushed off never ever gave up until now we are the ones celebrating them as the great 'greats'. So never ever giving up one way to go about it. They also drew their confidence in who they were not what society thought of them. Start learning not to sweat the small stuff is another key thing to fending off 'societies' many opinions. Get a great support system and do the best that you wish and will to. Get yourself out of any negative and paralysing environment or friendships and quietly find restoration by listening.