You are NOT who they say you are

You can't be imprisoned by your past.

So what is the past? The past is simply a collection of memories and experiences. So, why would the past be a prison? Consider this: your memories are fixed in time and space. They don’t change or move; you can’t go back in time to relive them again. Your experiences are locked away forever as static points in your life that you can never change. You can't get them back, but they will always have an effect on who you become and how others view you. They define who they think you are, which is something that has power over the present version of yourself.

Stepping away from our past can be the most exhilarating yet terrifying decisions we can make. It takes a lot for us to take that leap into the unknown. We don't truly know what we are capable of until we try. The key to life is we must make the first step to try. We are bound by our own personal prisons and that is our mind. Humans like being safe and comfortable. Being a thrill seeker is a different type of person when it comes to life. We have the choice to stay in prison or step into freedom. You are not your past; you simply carry it with you like a burden that weighs heavily on your shoulders and makes your neck ache. You must take steps toward demolishing it if ever want true freedom from who other people think you are based on their own interpretations of events that happened long ago!

You are not defined by mistakes you've made.

We’re human, and it’s natural to make mistakes. But we need to stop letting the mistakes we make define our self worth.

Everyone makes mistakes. That's human nature. We're flawed by design—none of us is perfect—and that's a good thing. It means that if you mess up, you're normal; no one has ever made it through life without messing up at some point or another. Mistakes are just opportunities to learn and grow; they aren't what actually matter in your life. They can't be undone, but you can change the future. The past is finished; work on today and tomorrow instead of looking behind yourself at what's already happened. When a mistake happens (as they inevitably will), evaluate it, learn from it, move on and let it go!

Your value is not your worth.

The truth is that your value comes from within. Your value is not a commodity to be bought or exchanged. It does not depend on someone else’s opinion of you. It does not rest on what you do, whether you are good at it or not. It has nothing to do with what you have or where you live. And your value is not the same as your worth, though they are often mistaken for each other.

Value is who we are and what we bring to the table; it’s how we experience our world, how we express ourselves, and how we feel about ourselves. When our value is threatened, so too is our sense of self-worth—the way we feel about ourselves when confronted by another person’s judgment of us and their view of who or what we are worth in their eyes.

You have the power to step into a new identity.

You, and you alone, have the power to step into a new identity.

The first step is to change how you think about yourself. You change how you think by changing who you believe.

Changing who you believe involves surrounding yourself with people who believe in your potential for greatness. That means changing the people around you (or changing your attitude towards them). You can't hangout with people that constantly tell you that your dreams are too big or that they're out of reach for someone like 'you.' Why? Because soon enough, YOU will start believing it too!

You also need to stop going to places that make you feel like less than what God has created you to be! Avoiding places that cause this type of thinking is just as important as being intentional about where we go and what we do in our leisure time. If a place triggers negative thoughts and feelings, eliminate it altogether if possible. If not possible, then go there far less often than before. The more time we spend in those environments; the more they become part of us and consequently the more pain they bring us over the course of our lives!

In order to begin thinking differently about ourselves, we must become more aware of our self-talk: both conscious and subconscious thoughts swimming around in our minds each day. We need to begin monitoring these thoughts and actively attempting to correct them when they contradict God's truth concerning us! Thinking begins with what we feed it: music, movies, books etc... So we must be proactive about feeding our minds good stuff!!

Your life can change at any moment and you get to determine who you'll be. You're never stuck as who they say you are!

Our lives can change in an instant and we get to choose who we'll be.

I've been told I'm a lot of things throughout the years. Throughout my school years, I was labeled 'gifted', 'smart', and even 'that girl who's not popular'. During my first few jobs, I was labeled as 'the new kid', 'the intern' or ‘the one who doesn't really belong here yet’. These are just some of the labels that have been applied to me over the years.

As much as these labels bothered me at times, I realized something important; none of these labels are permanent! To this day, I am still not good at drawing or making new craft projects but the more I practice the better I get. I research new techniques and videos on YouTube and here I am, making cups, shirts and hoodies and whatever else I feel like trying.

When you're told that you're a certain way, remember that it doesn't have to stick! You don't have to remain as they say you are! As much as people enjoy labeling others and putting them into boxes so they feel safe, don't let anyone tell you who you need to be (not even yourself)! Your life can change in an instant and YOU get to decide how you want your story to go from there on out!