A Look In The Mirror

 If I asked you who you are, you could come up with lots of different ways to respond. You could tell me what you do for a living, what roles you play in your life - like relationship, parent, friend, sibling, lover - what your goals are - almost anything that has to do with who you are right now. Today's you is a product of all your experiences - of the gifs you were born with, the things you learned at home, at school, and work, in relationships, in your community, and in your travels, right? 

It's like each of us is in an onion that has lots of layers. Our outside layer is what other people most often see - what we look like, where we live, and how we behave. As the layers are peeled away, we learn more about our core selves. Beneath the paper onion skin, we'd find our capabilities, beliefs, values, and perhaps even spirituality. 

Tips to notice and identify your beliefs

To notice your beliefs and discover how they got there, here are some important warning signs to watch for and listen for in yourself. "I really should do that. "It's something that I really ought to do." Terms like should, ought to, must are words of necessity. And that is what they imply: that there is an absolute necessity to the statement that contains that word. It can really be useful to simply ask yourself, "Who says?" or "according to whom?" And then listen for an answer. You might be surprised to discover how much of your life is being run buy the incredible wisdom of your past or other people in your head. 

Start noticing how your beliefs are influencing you - what you're thinking and, without judgement, decide if that's what you want to be thinking. if not, find a preferred though to focus on, one that feels better.