From 1956-1968, there was a television panel game show titled, To Tell the Truth.

The show featured a panel of four celebrities whose objective was to correctly identify a described contestant who had an unusual occupation or experience. This central character was accompanied by two impostors who pretended to be the central character. The celebrity panelists questioned the three contestants; the impostors were allowed to lie but the central character was sworn "to tell the truth". After the questioning was complete, each member of the panel voted on which of the challengers they believed to be the central character. Once the votes were in, the host asks, "Will the real [person's name] please stand up?"

I bring this up because I recently finished reading, “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. In this book he encourages us to be who we really are.

Have you ever given much thought to who you really are? I’m not talking about your title, economic status, or the role that you play as parent, spouse, student, employee, sibling, accountant, Democrat, Baptist—but the truly unique individual that God designed you to be. He gave each of us unique gifts and talents to be used on earth. Your success is divinely tied to these gifts.

In too many instances, the image we project to the world is merely a “representative” of the person we think we should be. Whether we acknowledge it or not, it seems we have become a society of people pleasers. We want to wear the “right” clothes, say the “right”’ things, have the “right” titles, possess the “right” trappings, and be seen with the “right’” people. The question is, “Why?”

The answer to that question is that we are afraid of rejection, of being seen as “less than”, or of looking foolish. We want to be accepted so we put on masks hoping to hide our true feelings and beliefs. We’ve heard of women who play small and incapable in order to boost the ego of a man. W also know people who put aside their hopes and dreams in order to promote someone else’s agenda; maybe we’re that person. These instances are far too common and threaten to lead to frustration and disillusionment.

The good news is that this doesn’t have to be your experience. Do you feel you are living authentically? Are you going after your dreams? Do you have a clear vision for your life? If not, this is a great place to start! The time is now! Give yourself permission to move toward being the best “you”.

You can choose to be your authentic self. You can choose to declare the following:

• “I’m going to be true to myself.”

• “No longer am I going to ruin my life trying to please other people.”

• “ I am entitled to pursue my own dreams.”

You can decide that today is your new birth date. You can decide to forget your past mistakes and failures and move on toward your authentic path of success and fulfillment.

Don’t be afraid to take risks that could possibly turn your life into the wonderful experience you were meant to enjoy. Stand up for yourself!

“With God on our side like this, how can we lose?” - Romans 8:31 MSG

Question: What career, financial, health, spiritual, and relationship goals will you aim for?

If you’re still trying to fight your way back to the “you” our Father intended you to be, I’m here to walk the path with you. Contact me at Lois@thepathwaycoach.com.