How You Can Become Someone You're Proud To Be
Only you are capable of changing your own life.
2shrimpS / Shutterstock By Sarah Dowell
From what I’ve seen throughout the last few years, certain people are able to shed their “skin” in a sense. They can change who they are without a second thought, seemingly with no regard to who has seen them in their other “skin,” and no regard to the people that they could be hurting in the process.
I have seen people who I am very close to do this, and I quickly lost all my respect for them.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I know many people do change who they are on the outside to please the majority. They want the “cool” people to think that they are just as “cool.”
No, I am not talking about high school kids, these are full grown adults acting this way as well.
They’re chameleons in a way. They change their personalities to match those who surround them. It can be frustrating to see.
I can’t say that I haven’t been one of those people before. I’m more than willing to admit that I’ve been the person that’s changed to try and fit in. I’ve even made fun of my own interests before to appease others.
When I take a step back and look at myself, there are times that I’ve wondered what I was doing or who I was.
I saw a quote earlier while browsing on social media: “Who you are supposed to be, where you’re supposed to be, and what you’re supposed to be doing will all fall into place.” I guess I can say that reading that angered me a little bit.
I know that it was supposed to be comforting and motivational, but is it really? Things don’t just “fall into place.”
You have to work to be where you want to be. As a person, it’s your responsibility to pick yourself up off the floor, get yourself out of bed and figure things out. Life doesn’t just fall into your lap. You don’t just wake up one day and decide, “I can do this because...” No. It takes work.
If you have a dream, you have to get up and work for it.
Look for what you need to do in order to get things together. Figure out what’s hindering you from chasing your dreams and eliminate it.
If it’s fear, I know it’s easier said than done, but get up and fight through it. Fight through what’s stopping you, even if it’s just taking little baby steps day by day.
Don’t expect life to be a fairy tale and wait until everything falls into place. If you fail the first time you try, get up, dust yourself off and keep trying.
Things aren’t always going to be easy. They aren’t always going to go your way, and, let’s be real, there are some days that you’re just not going to want to keep working through things that are hard. These days are important, too.
Take care of yourself. Love yourself and have faith in yourself. Know that you’re worth it and you can fight through it, but some days it’s okay to just take it easy. Don’t burn yourself out in the beginning.
Life is the hardest damn thing that you’re ever going to do, so make it worth it.
Again, do not just sit and expect the world to hand you what you need. Get out there and chase it, fight for it, do what you need to do in order to give yourself the best damn life that you possibly can.
Baby steps may seem frustrating, but at least you’re moving in a direction. You can do this, and you can accomplish so much more by being active about your goals than if you were just waiting for them to happen.
F*** anyone that says you can’t achieve your dreams. F*** anyone that you can’t be yourself with.
If you take a moment to stop, do you love what you see? If your answer is no, then get up and make the change. Make the difference. Only you are capable of changing your own life. No more chameleon, no more forcing yourself to be someone that you’re not.
Be who you are, and be proud of it. Be proud of your dreams, your aspirations, your hopes. Most of all, be someone that you’re proud of.
When you’re going to bed at night, the people that you worked so hard to impress aren’t going to be there. You’re the one that has to live with you.
Make sure that you’re someone that you love, make sure that you’re someone that you’re happy with and that you can be proud of. Friends, family, significant others — they’ll be there, but they’re not the ones in your head.
At the end of the day, you’re the one living with yourself. Take a look at yourself — are you someone that you can love?
Sarah Dowell is a writer whose work has appeared on Unwritten, YourTango, and Thought Catalog. She's passionate when writing about helping people love themselves and finding true happiness.