At some point in our lives, I think we’ve all tried to answer the questions “Who am I?”, “What is my purpose?”, “What gifts do I have?” or have even compared ourselves to the images we saw.
We were all born with a unique identity and purpose that we should be walking in every day. But most of us lose our true identity in the midst of life. You don’t always realize you are not your true self until you come out of something and experience freedom. I know for me I never realized I didn’t know myself anymore until I became single again after a long relationship. It was like a reality check for me. Once I had that freedom, I had to relearn who I was deep down inside. From the things I like and don’t like, my personality, my passions, my strengths. Even the not so great parts of me such as my weaknesses, my fears, my insecurities, my unhealed places. At first, it was hard because I didn’t know where to begin but I took it day by day and my path became more clear.
Why your identity is important?
Finding your true identity can help you make better decisions in your life. It can help you know who is right for your life and who’s not. It can help in your career path as you get to know your passions. And most importantly it helps you heal. When you are not being your true self, you won’t find peace in the things you do. Your identity is directly connected to the purpose God has given you. It can change the entire direction of your life. Not knowing your true identity can lead you into places you should not be in.
How to find your Identity?
Take a step back and evaluate where you are putting your identity.
The way you carry yourself, the way you think, speak, the decisions you make can reveal where you find your identity, good or bad. Sometimes we will allow external things to tell us who we are. Such as:
Social media
Relationships
Peoples opinions/comparison/approval
Jobs, titles
Money
Goal chasing
Family history
Our past
When you find your identity in external things, you either don’t know yourself or you’re just not loving who you are.
Questions to ask yourself:
What is leading you to make the choices you make?
Are you happy within? Or are you only happy when you are receiving certain attention, approval, money, or reaching certain goals?
What voices are you letting dictate your life?
Whether you realize it or not every action you make is rooted from something. It’s either from you following your heart, being led by God, or you allowing an external voice to lead you. And If you’re not sure if you know your true identity, pray and ask God to show you who you are. He will love to show you; you are his masterpiece. He sees the real you all the time whether you show it or not. We are made in his image. So the more you get to know him the more you get to know yourself.
Take the Journey
Knowing your true identity is a journey. It won’t happen overnight. As you keep living, growing, and investing in yourself you will learn more every day. You’ll begin to love your self more, even the not so good things. You’ll become more secure, not letting external environments shape the identity that God gave you. The person you are when no one is looking will begin to shine through for the world to see. You have more control over your life and emotions. You’re more stable. You also begin to have better discernment about the people in your life and what environment/places you're supposed to be in.
I hope this encourages you to be who you are. Getting to know yourself fully and loving the person God created you to be is the most fulfilling feeling ever.
Don’t follow the crowd, stand out like you were created to be. Even if that means walking alone. God is always with you.
"For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them"
Ephesians 2:10
