Our past doesn’t define who we are, because we are not our past, but we are what we choose to be at this very moment. Somehow we have accepted the concept that our past define who we are, but the truth is that our past cannot define us, but we define ourselves through our behaviours and actions of our present.

Our past doesn’t define us, because the past is gone. The only thing that is here is our present, and what we have chosen to be now is what really define us. In every sunrise, each new day, at any time, we have the opportunity to decide who we are going to be. If you let your past situations define you, if you let others define you, if your let your past behaviours, thoughts and actions define you, if you let external circumstances and things out of your control define you, you will become their slave, but if you decide to be the best version of yourself right here, right now, regardless your past and the person you used to be, then you will become free from any attachment with your old self, having the possibility to be your true self.

The problem is when we fail to be the person we really are by the thoughts and beliefs we have put in our minds about who we are, condemning ourselves to be the person who we are not, for the rest of our lives. There is no greater agony than the one you suffer when you start to believe that you are the person that deep inside your heart you know you are not, repressing and hiding your full potential.

“My past has not defined me, destroyed me, deterred me, or defeated me; it has only strengthened me.” – Steve Maraboli

But the worst issue of all is when people start to believe in the person you are not, because once they accept that person as your true self, they will categorize and define you, and the concept they create in their minds about you rarely changes, what makes everything more difficult for you. That is why the process to change yourself for a better you is not easy, because you must walk the path alone. You will have to face your own misconceptions about yourself, you will have to forgive yourself, forget others opinions about you, and then you will have to accept yourself as you really are and act upon it. The important thing is to believe in yourself, because you create your own destiny and not others, therefore, their opinions about you are absolutely useless.

We all have done and said things that we regret, but what is the point of regretting the person we used to be if that won’t change anything from our past? But what we can change is our present. The key is to embrace the person we used to be, because in a certain way that person shaped us, and released our true self. Our past has defined us, because in the way we acted, but now we define ourselves through our present actions and behaviours, the question is: Are we going to keep letting our past to define us by acting as in our past or are we going to redefine ourselves and act according to our true self?

 “Success in any endeavour depends on the degree to which it is an expression of your true self.” – Ralph Marston

We are not our past, we are not our past decisions, we are not our mistakes, we are not our past behaviours, but we are what we choose to be right now, and that is all that matters. The consequences of our past actions cannot be avoided, but we can avoid being the person we are not. We grow, we change, we evolve, and in that way we discover and create our true self, and that is success.

Nobody defines who we are, not even our past nor our old self, but we define ourselves. In this present moment we have the opportunity to decide and express our true self and release the greatness within us. Forgive yourself, accept your true self, love yourself, become the best version of yourself and change your life!