finding yourself

In order to be who God wants you to be, you have to find yourself.  The first thing you have to do to find yourself is know who you are and where you came from.  Reminisce a little and think back on your life.  You have to do this because it’s time to let go of the past and deal with the present.  I’m sure you have been through a lot of things in your life but that’s history.  Let’s focus on the present.  You can’t have peace or be happy if you’re holding on to the past.  This is a new day so let’s deal with the day.  If I focus on my past, I really wouldn’t be here.  I would be depressed and mad at the world.  Yes, people have hurt me and I have hurt people but we live and we learn.  Let it go.  You’re still here and God has major plans for your life. 
 
You need to spend some quality time with yourself.  Sometimes we have distractions that keep us back from going in the right direction.  I love to spend time with myself because I can regroup and see what direction I’m heading.  Life is busy but you have to take time out to do this for yourself.  Don’t say I don’t have time.  You have to find time.  It took me thirty years to find myself.  I wasn’t happy or at peace because I didn’t love myself.  I was meeting other people’s expectations and not doing what I wanted to do. I thought it was something wrong with me.  God really blessed me because I walk with my head held high all the time.  I’m very humbled but I know I’m special.  Thank you Jesus. 
 
Don’t live for other people’s expectations.  You will never be at peace.  When we wake up in the morning, we have to feel special.  We should feel special because we have life and able to live another day.  Live for you and allow people to accept who you are.  When we love ourselves and be who we are, we can benefit many people.  You will see the talents that were given and you would be on the road to finding your purpose.  Below are other reasons why people dislike themselves; their appearance, habits that they created, not meeting expectations, and getting negative feedback from others.  You can still love yourself if you fall under one of these categories.  First of all, you should be proud of who you are even through your faults because God made you.  If there was something that happened in your life that changed who think you are, your appearance or anything like that, still love you and do what you can to fix what is broken.   
 
Second of all, when we create bad habits, we hate ourselves.  Don’t feel that way.  It’s the habits that are controlling you not you.  Like I said before, you shouldn’t allow anyone or anything to control you.  We all have problems within ourselves that are wrong.  Before you do something that you know is wrong, take a step back and look at the situation or habit and find out why you really like to engage in that behavior.  You already know that it holds you back so how important is it to you?
 
Sometimes we do things that make us feel good but it’s not the world.  You can get pleasure without doing things to damage who you are.  I know when I find myself doing something wrong, I ask for forgiveness from God and I try to be stronger the next time.  That’s all I can do.  I’m not going to drive myself crazy and hate myself and before you know it you  may find yourself not doing it anymore.  I try my best to do good and most of the time I succeed but I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I don’t have problems because I do.  I’m human just like anyone else.  So, don’t dislike yourself from habits that you have created but again fix it one day at a time and get the help that you need and move on with life. 
 
Thirdly, not meeting expectations is a big reason why people hate themselves.  This is your life that you were given.  You can do whatever you like to do with your life.  Whatever you do, you have to suffer the consequences.  We don’t meet our expectations all the time.  Everybody wants to be somebody.  It’s good to have goals but God’s making the calls.  You may be on the wrong track and have to get on another track.  This is why praying for guidance is so important.   When you love others, you accomplish things every day.  Loving is the best accomplishment out of all accomplishments.  So don’t think you don’t accomplish anything.  We really shouldn’t set high expectations for ourselves either.   Of course, you are going to get upset when you don’t get what you want but just move to something else.  Don’t waste your time being upset with yourself.  If you tried to accomplish something and worked to the best of your ability, it’s nothing else you can do.  It’s just not meant to be.  Everything that we want is not according to God’s plan.  So when you set goals, don’t get depressed if you don’t accomplish what you wish to accomplish just keep it moving.
 
We all are smart in some area so plan accordingly, pray for guidance, be patient and don’t get upset if you fall.  Get back up again and keep on trying.  If you really believe in your heart that what you are trying to accomplish is right.  Go for it and you will achieve if it’s according to His plan.  So don’t hate yourself when you don’t meet your objectives.  We also dislike ourselves because of negative feedback from others.  This is definitely not good.  Don’t’ allow people to bring you down.  Love you and walk with confidence.  All of the above reasons are examples that can be fixed.  There are support groups and people like me who would love to talk with you to help you get through anything.  If you don’t start loving you for you, you are going to find yourself without yourself.  You will not be happy or at peace and you will miss all of the wonders of life set by God.

YOU
 
Have confidence to be you all the time
 
Love your body whatever size you are at this time
 
Love how you look in the mirror
 
Love your personality to deal with people
 
Love the gifts and talents that were given to you by God
 
Love changes in your life and know that it’s according to God’s will
 
Love your sense of humor whether you’re funny or not
 
Love to ask God for forgiveness when you make mistakes
 
Love to communicate by being you in dealing with people
 
Love God for loving you
 
Love to live life another day
 
Love yourself! Love yourself! Love yourself!

PROVERBS 18:14
 
The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?