You already are who you were meant to be
“To want to be what one can be is purpose in life.” Cynthia Ozick, (see link at the bottom)
“You can do whatever you want”, was a popular phrase that I heard when I was younger. The expression is filled with good intentions aimed at encouraging people to set their sights high and follow their hearts desires. I really believed this when I was kid.
“You can do whatever you want”
“The sky’s the limit”
“You can if you want to.”
“Where there’s a will, there is a way.”
“If you try hard enough, you will succeed”
These clichés work both ways. They can be encouraging. But what of those who try very hard and still do not succeed. Is it for lack of effort? Not everyone can be an Olympic gold medallist. Does that mean that those hundreds that did not get the gold medal did not work as hard?
Can you truly be exactly whatever you want? If I want to be the world record holder in marathon running at age 48, is it just a matter of will power? If I try and do not succeed, would that be because I did not want it hard enough?
There are many things that you might want or dream about but can we literally become or do whatever we want?
This has been a source of disappointment and bad self-esteem for a long time, the thought that I did not realize some dreams because I just did not want it bad enough, or just did not try hard enough.
But the answer to that is in the sentence, “… just did not want it enough.” Perhaps a part of not reaching a dream is that you just did not want it bad enough. In other words, somewhere during the process you realized, this is not what I really wanted to do. Or maybe, “I want to, but just not that much.”
What I am trying to say is that there is a difference between wanting something as in desiring or wishing for something, and wanting something that is a part of who you are. I might have a dream of becoming a pro athlete but that might not be what I really, really want. What I really, really want is something that is already within me. You can be whatever you want – if that’s who you are.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola is believed to have said, “ God’s will for us is our own innermost desire.”
I interpret that as; what we really want is equivalent to God’s will for us. Or in other words, what we really want is already within us.
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But how do you know what you want?
You have to know what you want, in order to be what you want, don’t you? You can not be whatever you want if you do not know what you want. Of all the self-help books on the market, it is very difficult to find one that helps you discover how to know what you want. There are many that tell you to know what you want, set up gaols and go for it. But that first step, knowing what you want, there are not so many who want to help with that. Not having that first step prevents you from even taking any of the other steps.
But how about this? You already are who you were meant to be.
You are who you are and you do not need to reinvent yourself. You are best at being you. There is no one better than you at being you.
Some people seem to know what they want from day one. Others seem to have to learn through trial and error.
Life is continually unfolding. We, as human beings, are continually developing.
You are who you are from birth. Whatever you choose to do with the life that you have been given, you can never stop being who you are.
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Cynthia_Ozick/