Who do you believe you are?

"Man often becomes what he believe himself to be.  If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it.  On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning."--Mahatma Gandhi

 Life is a journey that often leads us down many wrong and twisted paths because somewhere along the way we get lost in our limiting beliefs and thoughts about who we are and who we are supposed to become.  You can take hundreds of courses and read numerous books but if you fail to look into the mirror and see who you truly are, you will miss the message all the time.  Many of us have come into this world with pre-conceived beliefs and inherited behavioral patterns but that does not mean that we need to adhere to those views.  It really doesn’t matter what box you have been placed in or what label you have been identified by, you still get to choose how you want to be acknowledge  and you also get to decide if it is a good and proper path for you to follow.   It is not enough to believe in your capabilities, you also need to have passion about what you believe in and about what you are doing.  If it does not excite you, your sense of determination and ambition will not sustain you.  You need to stir the fire within your heart and soul.  You need to eat, sleep and drink your dream and be a strong advocate about your goals to the world.  A good examples is a young man who changed his thinking and his pursuit from one field to another.  He finally decided that he wanted to become a graphic designer.  When I asked him why he chose his profession he said:  “ It gets me excited every day when I create something new and refreshing and the best part is that I can go back to my work and look at it any time I want because it brings me satisfaction.  There are not too many professions where one has that opportunity.  My creativity lives on.”  I never forgot those words.  He was expressing his passion for what he does on a daily basis and that passion brings him joy.  It doesn’t get better than that.
 When you discover whatever it is that feeds your soul and creates magic in your life, you are living your passion.  People who enjoy those experiences  believe in themselves and their abilities.  Life is an adventure and when you choose to live it to the fullest, you are beginning to understand your purpose and function.  I believe that each one of us has something unique and special to offer the world.  It is our responsibility to explore and discover what that is for our self.  The statement:  “Life is what we make it”  is true and real.  When you believe in yourself and your talents and gifts, you move into a whole new realm of possibilities.  We are blessed with tools and technology that help us along the way yet the biggest hurdle is trusting in ourselves and believing that we were born for a reason.  We each have a destiny to fulfill and that can only be accomplished when we truly believe that we have the talent, the power and the wisdom to push through our limiting beliefs and climb our mountain.  It may be a rough and tough journey but it truly is a journey worth taking.  As Gandhi once said:  If you believe in yourself you surely will end up finding the capacity to achieve it.
  Joan Marie AmbroseAuthor, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker