Who Do You Think You Are?

We all know the old adage, "You are what you eat." But I prefer to subscribe to the philosophy that you are what you think. I don’t mean what you tell the world you think—I mean in the quiet, reflective moments when you’re looking in the mirror and nobody else is around. Who do you think you are then? When you aren’t articulating verbiage for others to see you through their proverbial lenses—when your ego or emotions aren’t factors in how you show up.

I would purport that in those truest hours, you are what you think. And that will end up reflecting in your daily life—no matter how open or limiting your beliefs about yourself may be.

Take a moment to think about it. How many times throughout the day do you give energy to what someone else thinks of you? It shows up as a thought in a meeting where you don’t share your opinion about the shitty new initiative happening at work because you worry what your VP will think of you. Or the narrative in your head about what your family thinks of that decision. The time you turned down an opportunity to have a new experience because you were worried that you would fail.

And so many other examples of micro-moments in life where you gave even a thought (energy) to what others would think, feel, or judge.

What if I told you that all of those thoughts are just reflections of what you actually think? Not Suzy. Not John. You.

You are also what you think based on any label you have assigned yourself.

I am the good mother, so I will give to my children—who are in their 20s—so much that I sabotage my own needs… because that is how I have defined “good.”

I am the breadwinner of the family, so I stay at the job I haven’t been happy at for the last ten years because the whole family depends on me—even without communicating my needs or feelings to my partner or spouse.

I am not skilled because I was downsized and no longer have the title of X at X company.

You are X because you think you are—and you are creating exactly that with every new page of your life story.

Society’s labels also create limiting beliefs in your thought process, too.

I am single in my 40s, so that implies I failed somehow, according to society’s rules.

My arranged marriage didn’t work out, and we were both very unhappy, so I filed for divorce—and cultural nuances dictate that the community now quietly shuns me for going against the “norm.”

I need to drive a BMW because I don’t want to be the only one in the neighborhood driving a Kia.

I should be chasing becoming a millionaire so others can be proud of me or think highly of me.

And so many other thought processes that create boulders you subconsciously carry.

Whether you think you can, or you think you can't — you're right."— Henry Ford

What if you made it a priority to spend less time seeking external validation and instead carved out focused time to investigate and identify the seeds you've planted internally that shape your being?

What if you reflected on who you think you are in those quiet moments—the ones that form patterns, reflex actions, moral masochism, or emotional storms?

What if you made it your mission to do root cause analysis on exactly who you think you are—not the branches, not the leaves, but the root of the tree—in order to free yourself?

Because at the end of the day, as Richard Bach said best: "Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours."

Wouldn't it be a better use of your time and energy to advocate for your limitless potential in every area of your life?

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."— Carl Jung

Change your mindset, and make the unconscious conscious—because the world needs you exactly as you are.