Be Yourself

This morning, I'm going through the StrengthsFinder results that 12 Kats for Christ students took and am enjoying soaking in the way that God made these students. It is helpful to know these things and am looking forward to learning more!

As I see them getting excited about their pouring more energy into enhancing their strengths, I remembered something important about the value of spending time learning who you are! Here is the profoundly simple thought:

When you know who you are, you can be yourself.

This seemingly obvious and simple idea is deeper than it first seems. I'm amazed at how easy it is for me to slip into a mode of trying to "be" someone else. Here's an example. While I'm standing among a group of people it becomes obvious that this group (generally-speaking) is opposed to and even says some harsh things about another group who holds certain beliefs. As someone who holds that supposedly "negative" belief, I am tempted to "act like" I believe something different. Even if asked a direct question in that situation, I still try to "act as if" I hold different beliefs and go into vague generalizations of some kind rather than answer their question directly.

Well, as I've grown in understanding who I am and even what I believe, I've learned that I can actually be myself. I can actually answer a question someone asks me without worrying how the other person or group of people will respond! It is so freeing! It energizes me to be who I am.

What about you? Do you struggle to be who you are? How have you been tempted to be someone else?