Your Identity is Shaped By How Other People Perceive You

I’m writing this post about identity to you today from an airstream in Oregon’s famed Willamette Valley, where Zak and I are glamping with the kids.

Total truth time: I do not like camping. Or glamping. Or any other word people use to make packing up all your stuff to sleep in a bed that’s not your own sound exciting.

However, I do it for the fam.

And the truth is, I complain, but it’s really not THAT bad.

What I noticed with this trip is my family has come to expect that I won’t like it.

They tease me endlessly!

And, I fall right into their sweet little trap. I complain and put up a bit of a fuss but the truth is, I love seeing them happy and enjoying themselves.

But, what I also noticed is that THIS is exactly how we create an identity that doesn’t serve us.

We tell ourselves stories. And consequently, those stories create our SELF.

Therefore, be careful about the identity that others create for you based on the stories they are telling about us. Don’t buy into it.

Ask yourself, “Is that true?” And if not, change your story.

For example, is it really true that I despise camping?

No.

Now, to clarify, I absolutely prefer sleeping in my own bed. Anddddd… this story my family is telling me about me isn’t true.

So, I’m rewriting it and sharing the new narrative with them. And it feels really good.

So good in fact that last night I sat by the fire with Zak and actually, dare I say, enjoyed the fresh night air with a sky so clear you could see every star.

Funny how that works.

What is a story others have told you about yourself that you can rewrite?

Love you!

— Cynthia

P.S. — Curious to learn more about how the stories we tell ourselves impact our growth, success, and happiness? I wrote my first Stuck Story when I was just 8 years old. Continue reading here.

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