true self

To Become Who You Truly Are, You Have to Let Go of Who They Told You to Be

For much of my life, I tried to be who they told me to be.

The “they” was everywhere—teachers, parents, partners, bosses, social media, society. Each one had a version of me they preferred. I wore those versions like outfits, hoping one of them would finally feel like me. But deep down, I always knew: I was playing a part written by someone else.

When You Live for Them, You Lose Yourself

Every time I molded myself to fit their expectations, I lost another piece of who I was. I became quieter when they said I was too much. I smiled when I wanted to cry. I said yes when everything inside me screamed no.

I wanted to be accepted so badly, I started rejecting myself.

Eventually, I reached a breaking point. I was exhausted. Not from being myself, but from not being myself. I had no idea who I was anymore—but I knew I couldn’t keep pretending. That was the first step.

Forget Who They Told You to Be

To find my true self, I had to unlearn the lies I’d been told:

  • That I was too sensitive.
  • That I needed to tone it down.
  • That my worth depended on being agreeable, pretty, polite, perfect.

None of that was me. It was who they needed me to be so they could be comfortable.

But I wasn’t born to make other people comfortable.

So I started letting go. I peeled back the layers of conditioning, people-pleasing, and perfectionism—and underneath, I found someone real. Someone strong. Someone worth knowing.

Becoming You Is a Brave Act

Choosing to be yourself—your real self—isn’t always easy. It might upset people. It might confuse them. It might even mean walking away from relationships or roles that no longer fit.

But becoming who you truly are is the most powerful act of self-love there is.

Every time you choose authenticity over approval, you build a life that actually feels like yours. And trust me, there is nothing more freeing than that.

You don’t have to be who they told you to be. You get to decide who you are.

SLAY Reflection

  1. Who told you who you “should” be?
  2. What roles or expectations are you still carrying that don’t feel like your own?
  3. When have you felt most like yourself?
  4. What’s one way you can show up more authentically today?
  5. What would your life look like if you stopped living for their approval?

S-L-A-Y:

  • Shed the stories that don’t belong to you.
  • Live your truth—loudly and unapologetically.
  • Acknowledge who you’ve always been beneath the noise.
  • You are allowed to become someone they don’t recognize.

Call to Action: Join the Conversation
I’d love to hear from you.
What part of yourself are you reclaiming today?
Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.

And if you know someone who’s stuck in a role they never chose, send this to them.
Sometimes, all we need is a nudge.

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! Boredom is the despairing refusal to be oneself.

New blog goes up Friday, until then… SLAY on!

State Of Slay Boredom

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! Fear the boredom that comes with not learning and taking chances.

SLAY on!

State Of Slay True Self

Loneliness Is Curable

If someone had told me that my loneliness was curable before stepping on this path I would have laughed. I had always felt lonely, even in a big room full of people. I always felt apart from everyone else, different, and those feelings kept me from connecting with others. I always had friends, and had several long-term romantic relationships, but I never really let anyone in completely, fearing that what they would find in me they wouldn’t like, because I didn’t like myself on the inside. That feeling of loneliness was always present in my day-to-day life. What I didn’t realize is that I held the key to that loneliness, I could let people in and find a peace and love in myself to wipe out the loneliness I felt.

Just as we hold the key to most of our suffering, we hold the key to our recovery from our past. For me, I found a way to connect with a spiritual way of life, to find a belief in something greater than myself. That took some time, even though I had always believed there was something out there, I was told it was up to me to find something that I could connect to and nurture a relationship with. I set out to find something that wanted the best for me, that was there to guide me and watch out for me, and I started to talk and connect with that idea. That alone wasn’t enough, but it was a great start. As that connection grew stronger I started to feel less alone, and that along with making an effort to connect with others like myself, who were on a similar path, those feelings of loneliness started to subside. It wasn’t always easy at the start, to reach out to people I didn’t really know, but it helped to focus on our commonality and those things I knew we shared and when I was able to do that asking someone to meet for a coffee or for their phone number became less scary, and as I did that and formed new friendships and relationships my life got richer and fuller. I still maintained many of the friendships from before, but it helped to form new ones with people who understood the journey I was on.

We, many times, impose our own loneliness, we sentence ourselves to be alone, because we may not feel worthy, or may not like ourselves or convince ourselves we don’t deserve to have good people in our lives, we do, but we have to believe we do and then set out to form those friendships. And, if you live in a smaller community where it’s more difficult to find people like yourself, find them online, find groups or fandoms that you can relate to, and that have common interests, goals or ways of life that coincide with yours. They’re out there. There are so many ways to cure your loneliness, all it takes is some effort on your part, no matter where you find yourself, no matter what interests or excites you, there are people just like you who will not only accept you, but embrace you, so let them know you’re out there and invite them in. Your loneliness is within your control, take your power back and let yourself live as your true self, allowing others to celebrate who you are along with you. SLAY on!

SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you feel lonely? When do you feel lonely? Why do you think you feel lonely? Have you always felt lonely, or was there a specific time or event that started your loneliness? Do you feel like there is something missing from your life? If so, what is it? Are you able to identify it? Do you have a spiritual belief or relationship in your life? If so what is it? When you connect with something greater than yourself, do you feel less lonely? Does connecting with it give you comfort or make you feel more confident? Do you have trouble making new friends, or seeking out new people with similar interests or a similar journey? If not, why not? What gets in your way? Find the courage, SLAYER, to reach out those like yourself if you’re feeling alone, work on engaging with those people and find a commonality with them you can connect to. You can cure your own loneliness, but it takes work, so get to work and kick loneliness to the curb!

S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! You can close your eyes to things you don’t want to see, but you can’t close your heart to things you don’t want to feel.

New blog goes up Tuesday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Real

 

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! Never hide who you are, never stay quiet when you want to share, never be anyone than who you are.

New blog goes up Friday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Hide 1

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! Do what gives you joy, for no other reason than just that.

New blog goes up Tuesday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Joy

It’s OK To Say No

I’ve written before that is it’s OK to be sad, it’s OK to not be OK, it’s OK to ask for help, it’s OK to say you don’t know, but it’s also OK to say no.

Before stepping on this path I never wanted to say no, even if saying yes made me angry or uncomfortable, I wanted you to like me because then you wouldn’t ask so many questions, so I figured if I wouldn’t say no, I would stay in all of your good graces. Consequently I made a lot of plans I didn’t like, I agreed to help even when I didn’t have time, or really didn’t want to, but I never wanted to be seen as ‘the bad guy,’ because in my own mind, I was the worst of the worst of all bad guys, and agreeing and saying yes, I thought, hid that from all of you. I carried around a lot of resentment towards all those people that I was not saying no to, but the resentment I should have looked at was the one towards myself, the one that had me saying yes over and over to things I shouldn’t have.

I’m a firm believer that you should never say yes to something unless you want to. Sure, there are things you have to do, like taxes, but in life, unless you want to, and are not expecting anything in return, you should say no. Saying yes to things you don’t really want to do only breeds resentments. When we say yes to things we don’t want to we’re going against who we are and we’re not being our true selves. We may say yes to look good to others, to get something in return, or even to get the credit for our good deed, but none of these reasons are reasons to say yes. And, all of these reasons will produce a resentment if the desired result isn’t received.

So, make it easy on yourself. Say yes if you want to say yes, and say no if you want to say no. It’s OK to say no. Typically I like to give an explanation if I say no, my reasoning for it, because people aren’t usually used to saying no and no can be quite jarring to some people, especially to those people who you’ve constantly been saying yes to. Be true to who you are, and honest, and only say yes when you truly want to say yes, and, don’t be afraid to say no. This also goes back to my blog Are You A People Pleaser? People-pleasers do not follow their heart, or what they want to do, they do what everyone else wants them to do, or, what they think they do. We, as SLAYERS, follow our heart, we help out where and when we can, but not at our own detriment, we are open, honest, and we look for ways to be of service, because we want to, period. No other other reason, no other motive. And, if you don’t want to do it, or can’t, it is OK to say no.

What’s your motivation for saying yes? And, should a lot of those yes’s really be no’s?

SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you have trouble saying no? Why? What are you afraid of? Where you told that you shouldn’t or can’t say no? To whom? Is this someone from your childhood? How did it make you feel when you were told you couldn’t say no? How do you feel about it now? What if you did say no, what do you think will happen? What’s the worst that could happen? Is that possible result worse than you not being true to yourself? When was the last time you said no? How did it feel? When was the last time you said yes when you would have rather had said no? How did that feel? SLAYER the only person you need to be true to is you, when you take action and it is of pure intentions, then you will never be disappointed, because no matter what the result, you did what you wanted to without expecting anything in return. So, no matter what happens, your actions were true to who you are, and what you intended to do. Be true to yourself, always, SLAYER, do what you want to do, say yes to new things, but it’s also OK to say no, when it’s not right, or you feel that saying yes will compromise your true you. Be honest SLAYER, and never be afraid to speak your truth, even if it is a no. SLAY on!

S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! Sometimes the only way to protect your heart is to share it with others.

SLAY on!

State Of Slay Heart

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! You never know when your words will impact someone’s life forever. Choose to be a positive impact, choose your words wisely.

New blog goes up Sunday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Tongue