Week 1: Tuesday

Identity is Everything

Who you see yourself as in the morning defines everything about you. Your self perspective is the single most important element to your quality of life. That’s why we’re starting here.

I don’t want to use the illustration of a 3rd world country lightly. A lot of people in these environments face real and hard challenges every day that we don’t have to deal with in America, but I think this is perfect in framing how your self perspective is the difference not your environment.

Almost everyone I know who went on a mission trip to Africa comes back and says ‘they’re just the happiest people’ — and then compare their living situation to their 3 story million dollar home in suburban USA. This mentally associates in our minds ‘happiness’ with wealth and status. The reality is wealth and status have nothing to do with happiness if we choose to disconnect them.

Who do you say you are?

Are you a winner? Are you accepted? Are you welcomed? Are you chosen? Do you have a purpose? Are you fighting for something bigger than yourself?

In spite of all the present circumstances is there something bigger that makes the struggle worth it?

I personally choose to find my value and identity in what Jesus says about me in the Bible. I am holy, righteous and redeemed. I am a saint. I am free. While I don’t always live my life to this standard, Jesus has covered the gap between my shortcomings and called me holy. So I aim to act in a way worth of who Jesus says I am. I am honest because a holy and righteous person is honest. I am loving and caring because a man of virtue and value is loving and caring, etc. And when I fall short, almost every day, I thank the Lord for filling the gap on my behalf. This level of faith is a strong identity change that has helped me work and contribute harder than I ever thought possible.

A lot of people identify themselves with their shortcomings: I’m a smoker, I’m lazy, I’m arrogant, I’m…fill in the blank. Regardless if you occasionally smoke or sleep all day from time to time, saying you’re lazy will keep you in the track of being lazy. You’re consistently re-aligning your identity to the shortcoming.

Then people tie their happiness to the contrast of their self talk and become miserable. “Nothing ever works out for me” “I’m not good enough” “I can’t…” in this zone people are the most selfish and unhappy.

Now the point:

Choose to align your identity with what builds you up. Are you built up calling yourself lazy or diligent, regardless if your actions follow right now. Your identity is defined by how you think of yourself. People call this stupid, people say positive self talk doesn’t really work or it’s ‘fake it ‘till you make it’ mentality. The reality is, if you say you’re fit, you’ll find yourself in the gym a lot more than someone who doesn’t. Your inner heart and integrity won’t let you lie to yourself without you getting majorly depressed, so do what you say you’re going to do and say you’re capable of doing great things.

This is important because, you face rejection every day. People will say mean and untrue things about you and if your identity isn’t rock solid you’ll start to believe them, become discouraged, quit and then resent yourself a little because you let yourself quit something you said you would do.

Align your identity with the person you want to become, holy, honest, caring, servant, etc. And then when someone calls you a lying solicitor (because they’ve been burned by dishonest people) you know in your heart that you #1 can do hard things that you said you would do it and #2 know you’re walking in integrity and you believe that you are doing things the right way. Their mean comments fade away.

This person isn’t thrown off by an angry home owner.
This person isn’t desperate for a sale.
This person isn’t going to cheat the system for an extra $5k.

Choose your identity wisely, pick values and missions that are good. Then walk in integrity, honest dealings, and purpose. Watch as your confidence skyrockets and how no shakiness of this world can move you because you know you’re doing good with good intentions. Their no doesn’t shake you or move your mission.

I hope you have a great day today, crush those doors!

Will Haddock, aeuix