IDENTITY
Recognise the woman you’ve been through every season of your life.
I think we spend a lot of our lives becoming who we think we are supposed to be.
We become daughters, wives, mothers, professionals, carers, friends, the dependable one, the capable one. We adapt to circumstances, take on responsibilities and, without really noticing it, sometimes become rather good at putting our own needs somewhere near the bottom of the list.
Then life changes.
And one day you look in the mirror and wonder who this woman is now.
She may look different.
Her body may have changed.
Her hair may have changed.
The things she wants may have changed too.
But perhaps she hasn’t lost herself at all.
Perhaps she has simply become someone she hasn’t taken the time to get to know yet.
“When we know who we are, we no longer search for permission to be ourselves.”
AWARENESS
Knowing what matters to you now, not simply what mattered once.
IDENTITY IS …
SELF-TRUTH
Being honest about who you are, what you want and what no longer feels right.
EXPERIENCE
Carrying everything you’ve lived through with you — the good, the difficult and everything in between.
CONFIDENCE
Trusting yourself enough to make choices that don’t need everyone else’s approval.
GROWTH
Accepting that changing doesn’t mean you’ve lost yourself. Sometimes it means you’ve found more of yourself.
SELF-RESPECT
Treating yourself with the same kindness and consideration you have so often given to other people.
Identity is knowing who you are and being comfortable enough with that woman to let her be seen.
You might recognise yourself again when…
♥ You stop apologising for who you are.
♥ You trust your instincts instead of immediately questioning them.
♥ You make choices because they feel right to you, not because they make sense to everyone else.
♥ You realise that some things you once thought were important simply aren’t anymore.
♥ You find yourself becoming curious again.
♥ And perhaps most importantly, you begin to like the woman you’re becoming.
You honour who you are when…
♥ You acknowledge how far you’ve come.
♥ You let go of things that no longer fit.
♥ You surround yourself with people who allow you to be yourself.
♥ You keep learning, dreaming and creating.
♥ And you give yourself a bit of grace when life doesn’t go according to plan.
And perhaps this is what identity really means…
♥ Not trying to become the woman you think you should be.
♥ Not trying to return to the woman you used to be.
♥ But getting to know the woman you are now.
Because she has lived a lot of life.
She’s learned things. She’s changed her mind. She’s made mistakes. She’s survived things. She’s discovered things she loves and things she never wants to do again.
She’s allowed to be different.
And she’s allowed to choose what comes next.
YOU ARE NOT WHO YOU USED TO BE.
And that’s something to celebrate.
You don’t have to become someone new. You simply get to decide who you are becoming.