Becoming the Person You Were Meant to be in this Lifetime

Sometimes, our road forward may seem unclear. We aren't sure what we want to achieve, or what we want to be moving forward. When there are too many paths to choose from, it can seem deeply overwhelming to choose just one.

At times like this, you may want to take some time for introspection, to get clear on what you really want, need and value. It is also important to realize that as we progress along our paths, these things may change. It's ok to go after a goal, only to realize that it doesn't truly align with what you want anymore.

We all grow and change. As we seek answers to life's deepest questions, we go through different iterations of who we are. The person that you were 10 years ago isn't the same person you are today. The person you are today isn't the same as the person you will be tomorrow, or in 10 more years. And that is perfectly natural.

Ringing in the New Year

With 2023 coming to an end, and 2024 about to begin, this is a time that many of us choose to reflect on the path we have taken s far, and where we want to go in the future. Many New Year's traditions center on setting resolutions and aspiring to change in a myriad of ways.

Many people are in the process of setting New Year's Resolutions and considering their goals for the New Year. This is an age old tradition that goes back as far as pre-Roman times, and people all over the world have used this time of the year to reflect.

You can do some journaling, look at the goals you set at the beginning of 2023 and think about if you have achieved them. Other people write letters to themselves to set intentions for their way forward.

Whatever traditions you choose to embrace as far as New Year's Resolutions, the most important part of setting them is that you do it with a personal sense of intention. Don't cave in to social pressure to do something if it doesn't feel aligned for you.

Choosing December 31 to set your goals is an arbitrary deadline. If you don't feel like now is the time, you can just as easily set your goals in a couple of weeks or months from now. It isn't something that is mandatory to do right now.

Be Gentle with Yourself

Remember, you are a beautiful person with a beautiful soul. You are worthy of love, respect and kindness just as you are in this moment. Change isn't a prerequisite for being worthy. You are enough.

Often, in our drive for personal development, mental health recovery and spiritual growth, we forget to honor the people that we are right now, in the present moment. We live in the future or the past, instead of enjoying the beauty of the day today.

Always say “yes” to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? what could be more insane than to oppose life itself, which is now and always now? Surrender to what is. Say “yes” to life — and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.

— Eckhart Tolle

This wisdom teaches us to be more present in our day to day experience. Be mindfully present, and it will change your experience of your life. Take time to truly see, feel and experience this moment. Accept where you are. Accept yourself, fully and completely. The person that you are right now is beautiful.

The more mindful you are each day, the more happy, peaceful and aligned your life will become. By participating in your life fully, instead of spending your mental energy on regrets from the past or worries about the future, you will learn to enjoy life more each day.

Your Life is What You Make It

Our choices define our future. It is the choices that we have made in the past that created the life we are living now. And it is the choices that we make today that will shape who we are in the future. This is why it is so important to live each day with intention and mindfulness.

By being in tune with our innermost selves, we live a life that is aligned to our priorities and values. When we are calm and centered within ourselves through practices like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, journaling and gratitude, it allows us to be who we truly want to be. We are calm, centered, focused and peaceful.

You can use practices like Affirmations or the Law of Attraction to center your mind each day as well. By putting positive thoughts actively into your mind, you can counteract the mind's natural negative bias, and become a more positive thinker. Positive thinking allows you to be open to opportunities coming your way, so that you can accept them into your experience.

The way our lives unfold really has a lot to do with what we choose to focus on. Are we focused on ourselves, our happiness and our joy? Or, are we focused on our failings and our limiting beliefs? Sometimes, negative thoughts will naturally come up. But we learn through meditation that we are separate from our thoughts. We don't need to attach to them. We can allow them to pass, and regain our calm center.

Becoming More of Yourself

To live your best life aligned to your highest good, you go through a process of developing the qualities that you wish to have within yourself. You choose to cultivate love, kindness, happiness and peace. The more you consciously do this, the more you come into your true self and your true nature.

As you come into yourself, you strip away all of the preconceptions that you have taken on from society, and from people in your life over the years who have tried to make you small. You come to realize that not everyone who professes to love you really wants you to succeed.

Sometimes, relationships you thought would last forever come to an end. This can take the form of distancing yourself from narcissistic family members, ending friendships or romantic relationships. Not everyone is meant to walk the path with us for a lifetime.

Becoming the best version of yourself is a combination of integrating the new, and deciding intentionally what we want to keep of the old. Chances are, there are some habits that you have that are quite positive. This can be healthy eating, good sleep hygrine, brushing your teeth, seeing a therapist, reading motivational books, or anything else that keeps you well in mind, body and spirit.

Along with good habits, we likely have bad habits as well. We learn to shed these habits by doing more of the things that feed our souls, and trying to weed out the things that don't. You can replace a negative habit with a positive one when you set your mind to it. This is the true purpose of New Year's Resolutions.

If you decide to set resolutions for yourself today (or in the coming weeks!) make sure that they are goals that align with the person you truly wish to be. Don't set goals based on what others think, make sure they come from your heart. Then, they can be like a compass guiding you forward into your best and most brilliant life.