Self...

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.  Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." ~ Rumi 

I've been alive now for 45 years and at this stage in my life there seems to be a fascinatingly common theme: Self.  I know that sounds arrogant or ego-centric, but hear me out.

I'm finding that self is a prefix to many of the attributes I work on daily: self-acknowledging, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, self-confidence, self-affirming, self-assurance, etc.  Developing confidence and even admiration in one's self is not arrogant; it's necessary to growth.  In the last 45 years there are a handful of things in this world that I can say I have great knowledge of...myself is not one.

"My past is everything I failed to be." ~ Fernando Pessoa

At times my self talk has included self-rejection, self-deprecation and self-loathing.  I've let my failures and successes define me on the daily, always putting myself behind what I accomplished or failed to accomplish.  I didn't know myself so I defined it by tasks.

The root of this misunderstanding is trust in myself.  I'd believed my worth was defined by what I had done rather than what I could do.  Trust is faith, while the opposing view is doubt.  When you begin to define yourself by doubt you lose sight of who are capable of being.  Regardless of whether I accomplished this or that, I am still worthy.  I am still on track.  I am still OK.  I am still me.

"As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I believe that no matter what path you've walked, stumbled or fallen down thus far you can always be true to yourself.  The clarity with which you see yourself now is the single most important factor to the clarity with which you will see your path.  Be true!  Once you begin to train your mind to attach self to positive and reflective traits you will begin to understand yourself and build upon your potential.  After all, your potential or the thought of tomorrow is the only thing you can work on today.  Yesterday is in the books so the effort right now is what shapes tomorrow.

Think self a little more and take pride in it.