The other day, I was walking through my neighborhood when I noticed a yard sign.
It said:
Sarcoma Survivor.
Now that's a powerful label.
It acknowledges something someone has lived through. It honors their strength and recognizes a chapter of their life they didn't necessarily choose—but survived.
The rest of my walk, I kept thinking about the labels we give ourselves.
Some we choose intentionally.
Others sneak in uninvited...
"I'm terrible with directions."
"I'm not a creative person."
"I'm just not good with money."
"I'm not an adventurous person."
We say these things without even thinking about them and sometimes we say them often enough that we may not realize we've turned them an identity.
Here's what I mean by that. There is a difference between saying:
"I got lost."
and
"I'm terrible with directions."
One describes something that happened.
The other describes who you believe you are.
Sometimes, those little labels quietly shape the choices we make, the things we try, and even the possibilities we allow ourselves to imagine.
I'm trying to be more intentional with the labels I'm giving myself.
I've been choosing, "I'm someone who takes good care of her health."
And in writing my latest blog post, I realized that for years I've told myself, "I don't have a great sense of direction". So instead I'm going to try "I'm getting better at finding my way."
We don't have to force ourselves to believe a new identity overnight.
We can start by giving ourselves small pieces of evidence.
One choice.
One action.
One little vote for the person we're becoming.
Since this is a powerful tool for living more intentionally and important for growing into who we want to become, I've taken this topic a bit deeper in a blog post. You can find it here. Best wishes for a lovely week!
Julie
P.S. If this made you think of someone you love, I'd be honored if you'd share it with her. Sometimes we all need a little reminder that we are more than the stories we've been telling ourselves.
I am becoming the person I want to be, one small choice at a time.
What We Loved This Week
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