I'm going to start this post by saying I'm a huge geek. I absolutely love comics, specifically Batman comics, and I'm particularly fond of Knightfall. Now, I know Bane is a villain, but I draw strength from the fact that he chooses to determine exactly what his life is going to be. I don't see perfection the same way he does, but I admire how he decides exactly what he wants to be and what he wants to do and he does exactly that, despite the fact that all the odds are against him.
Now, before I jump further into this, I'd like everyone reading this to know I'm going to be brutally blunt in this post. If we have had less than pleasant encounters in the past, it may come up here. I by no means hold anything against any of you.
So, it occurred to me today that I've been holding myself back in my own life. I've been through a lot of difficult things in my life, and I've been letting the entirety of it hold me back. To a certain extent I've taken control and not let things get me down, at least on the surface, but in my head I've let it all consume me. I've been leaning on excuses and saying "That's just the way I am because of my past." That's not the case though. That's the way I am because that's the way I think I am. Now, I know this all sounds a little cliché. You determine your attitude, you determine who you are. I've heard it my entire life and you may have as well. I want to let you all know that its entirely true though. As odd as it is, reading Knightfall really helped me visualize and internalize this concept.
Take a moment to assess who you would like to be. Now, I'm not referring to your profession or your accomplishments. I'm referring to you, on the inside. What kind of qualities would you like to have? Would you like to be more outgoing? Would you like to be a better leader? Would you like to be more emotionally stable? Really assess every little detail of what the ideal you would be like. Now, when you've finished, ask yourself why you're not this way.
I'm going to use myself as an example here. I haven't been emotionally stable for quite some time. Ideally, I'd like to be. Why have I not been emotionally stable then? Its because of the way I was raised. I was raised in a home with too much contention and too high of expectations. There were harsh words spoken by several different family members, and it really effected me.
That's all just an excuse though.
Yes, it all really effected me, but only because I let it. I am not defined by my past; I am defined by myself. If I want to be emotionally stable, then it is my decision to be so. Realizing I have the power within me to be whatever I want is one of the first steps in this process. Its no different for any one of us. Yes, there are things in this world that are out of our control. Who we are is not one of them though. We each have complete power over our own personalities, character, and attitude.
Take each and everyone one of those reasons that you aren't the way you want to be and say to yourself, this has no power over me. Be the person you want to be.
Now, before I close this post, I'd like to acknowledge that this won't always be as simple as it sounds. Old habits definitely die hard. I only ask that every time you start to feel that memory of a past experience or emotion take control of you, you personify that event or emotion and you let it know that it has no power over you, because it doesn't. You can do it. I can do it. Now lets all be exactly who we want to be.
♥//Brittany
