After reading my devotional this morning I felt I needed to express my feelings on identity. It’s so important to have a strong foundation. Every secure confident person has a good foundation, just like every great building has a good foundation and support system. It’s a lot of people who smile on social media and drive nice cars, but who are insecure, emotionally unstable, and do not a have healthy perspective of their own self-worth.
A secure and confident person knows exactly who they are… they know their strengths and weaknesses. I want to focus on three areas that can help anyone increase their self-worth and strengthen their identity.
1st area – Know your core values. It’s very important to know who we are at our core. This includes our values, beliefs, desires. Be transparent and ask yourself… am I selfish? Am I a good friend? Am I respectful towards others, especially the people I love? What is my purpose in life… and am I accomplishing it? These questions are not meant to highlight any imperfections, as no one is perfect, but only for us to understand who we are.
2nd area – Know your family and your place in this world. Michael W. Smith wrote a song called Place in this world. This area involves learning. No one is born knowing their family history. We have to learn it. Many of us, including myself, know very little about our family lineage and family history. Knowing where we come from and the community who we belong to strengthens our identity.
3rd area – Know how others perceive you. This area involves relationships. Although everyone knows it’s unwise to worry or be overly concerned about what people think… however, I do feel it’s wise to have a good social circle of friends who provide a healthy balance of truth, love, and accountability. When we learn how we are perceived, we can utilize that knowledge as feedback to promote our own personal growth.
In today’s world so many of us are so busy focusing on others, and being entertained, that we forget (or don’t make time) to study ourselves.
There are so many questions we have about ourselves that will be unanswered. We truly don’t know everything about our own brain or the universe for that matter. No one has all the answers to everything. If you have a question about yourself that you can’t answer… then you may need to study the Bible, self-reflect, or speak to someone who loves you.
I take time everyday to reflect on life. Whether it’s prayer and meditation, reading my devotional, listening to music, sitting in silence, etc. I need to evaluate my own wellbeing daily… including both my mental health and physical health. Both have a role to play in how I feel. Many days I’ll also take some time to call my mom or my brother just to check in on them, even if it’s just to say hello.
Speaking to people matters!
I just want to pause and say communication matters. Being spoken to and speaking to others is very important. So many people walk around every day without smiling or speaking to anyone.
I remember in my late 20s I relocated to a large metropolitan city. It was one of my first experiences working in environments with people who intentionally ignored me. They would look through me. Sometimes people didn’t even respect me enough to look at me when speaking to me. And, I had a college degree.
I then learned that it was very common for people to know who you are, but not care about you at all. People I worked with literally walked past me without acknowledging me. It was as if I was alive and dead at the same time.
So many people feel insignificant and struggle with their identity because they don’t feel seen, acknowledged or heard. Just like children need attention and affection… adults do too.
Lastly I want to remind you that your voice, your words, you as a person… matter. MLM – My Life Matters. If you are breathing then you matter. Regardless if anyone feels like I matter, I know God thinks I matter simply because I’m alive.
A kind encouraging word can literally make my day. There are times when I simply hear a song playing in the background and my spirit becomes alive. It may inspire me to pick up my guitar, dance and sing.
Sometimes I speak positive words over myself just to remind myself of who I am… I am a son of Abraham. A child of God. 🙂
Jason's Journal 