Being Yourself

Be yourself. Heard that before? If you’re a regular on my blog, you definitely have. This is a common phrase, but what does it actually mean? I think it can depend on who you ask, but today I want to share with you what it means to me and why I believe it’s so important.

To me, being yourself is accepting the way God made you and not trying to be someone else, while also striving to be the best you can be for Him. It’s accepting that you’re naturally opinionated, but having self-control and not using that trait for the harm of others. It’s embracing your role as a firstborn but working on the weaknesses that come along with it. It’s accepting your body the way God originally created it and taking care of it, not trying to permanently or drastically change your looks when you don’t like a certain feature. It’s not conforming to the pressures others put on you when it doesn’t feel right or you know it’s wrong.

It can be hard to be yourself. As human beings, it’s natural for us to long for the acceptance of others. Maybe you’ve been told all your life that “you’re so quiet” or “you’re too shy,” and you feel that you need to be more talkative and outgoing to be normal or gain the approval of others. But I want to ask you, why does their opinion matter so much to you? Who are they to tell you who or what to be? Why would you let them change you? I know many people are naturally people-pleasers and it might be very hard for those people to say no sometimes, but I believe it’s so important to focus on what truly matters. On whose opinion of us will actually matter in the end. On who created us.

On the other hand, there are people who will use the excuse when they continue in their bad habits and maybe even sins that it’s just the way God created them. Maybe you are very shy and it’s to the point where you don’t acknowledge others or practice good manners, and you casually say or think, “I can’t help it; it’s just the way God created me.” I firmly believe that it’s ok to be quiet and it’s also ok to be outgoing, but it’s not ok to ditch using manners and treating others as the valuable human beings they are. God created all kinds of personalities and variations of them, but He also gave us instructions in His Word (the Bible) on how to live our lives. So when your super chatty personality is causing you to be tempted to interrupt others when they’re speaking, I encourage you to try not to go ahead and let your rudeness have its way just because it’s your natural reaction. Slow down and treat others the way you want to be treated. It may take time and practice (I’m still working on things too!), but don’t give up! Ask God to help you and let Him help!

It’s so important for you to be you because you’re the only one of you! God created you so uniquely. There’s no one else who’s ever looked and sounded and acted just exactly like you. Even identical twins have their own personalities and thoughts and feelings. God created you for a reason and put you here on earth with a purpose. No one else can add to the world exactly what you can in your own unique way.

Don’t try to be different than you are just because someone else is pressuring you to or you don’t feel adequate or whatever else the case may be. Try to change the parts of you that actually need working on- showing kindness, generosity, love… And remember who created you and what He thinks of you!

Psalm 139:13-18