7 Things You Didn’t Know About Yourself

“You are what you write.” — Helvy Tiana Rosa

It’s not often that our beliefs and values are visible for all. But, they are shown in the way we write. There is plenty of research showing the difference in people’s personalities based on the size of their words. Beyond that, even if people believe the same thing, it can be said in many different ways and our words exemplify our true feelings in ways we might not immediately notice.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the small act of caring. All of which have the potential to turn a life around.” — Joe Duncan

Think back to the things that made your day better today. Maybe another driver let you in on the freeway when you were merging or switching lanes. Maybe someone held the door for you on your way into a building. Maybe someone smiled at you while you were walking somewhere. We all have the ability to impact someone’s day for the better, that is an incredible responsibility and opportunity that we often overlook.

“We make our decisions and our decisions make us.” — Todd Mullins

If you pay attention, you do many of the same things every day. Our decisions make us. Do you ever notice yourself zoning out on the way to work? We know the route, we make our decisions and then without noticing it, our decisions decide the way that we go. What about the other decisions that we make that have become habits, like brushing our teeth or flossing? “How we do anything is how we do everything.” — Jesse Itzler. Our decisions make us in ways that we might not even realize, especially as some sources state we make over 35,000 decisions daily.

“Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” — Frank Outlaw

We cannot achieve what we are not. We can not be what we do not do consistently. We can not do consistently what we do only once. We can not do once what we never say. We can not say what we do not think. It all starts in our mind, not in our heart, but in our mind. Our subconscious receives all our thoughts, unfiltered, and responds and goes to work while we rest. The subconscious mind is most active while we are asleep so it is extremely important to be aware of the thoughts that we are sending it, they are the foundation of everything else.

“You are an individual, you are responsible for yourself. You determine who you are and what defines you.” — Brad Lea

While we cannot control all the things around us, we can control where we are. No matter what, we can choose what we do. You chose to work today, or you chose to stay home — both have consequences and resulting reactions. Every action has a reaction. We are responsible for who we are. There is a story of 2 sons with an alcoholic father and what happened when they grew up. While they both came from the same environment, they controlled what they could control and thereby created their futures that were quite different from each other.

“Maturity is when you live your life by your commitments, not by your feelings.” — Rick Warren

What is important are the things that matter to us. What do you commit to? Just keep asking why and you might notice a few things that you do that are driven by your feelings and not what truly matters to you. Why do you watch the news every night? Maybe that’s because you feel you need to stay updated. Why do you feel you need to stay updated? Maybe that’s because you feel you need to be aware of your community. Why do you want to be aware of your community? Maybe you want something to talk about with others in the community. You get the idea. You continue to ask why until you cannot ask why anymore. Only THEN have you found your true commitment that is directing those other actions.

“Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something which must be done, whether you like it or not. Work breeds a hundred virtues that idleness never knows.” — Charles Kingsley

We have life. Gary Vaynerchuk loves to share the odds of becoming a human — 400 trillion to 1. And more than that, if you’re reading this, chances are, you have something to do today, an objective, a purpose. I have quoted this a lot recently, but in the book of Genesis, in the Bible, God rested on the 7th day. But, this rest was out of completion. That is what is important. Work breeds virtues.

There are so many things to continuously learn about ourselves, and while these may not be new, this might be a new way to look at some of the parts of ourselves. What makes us who we are? Ultimately, because we can choose what we do in any given day, that is up to us. We can evolve to become (within reason) whomever we decide to be.

God has given each of us incredible strengths and unique abilities and it should be up to us to refine them and direct them in areas that exemplify God’s purpose for our lives.

“You’ve already won. You were born a winner. Consistently executing at your true best will ensure success.” — Harrison Wendland