Self-growth always begins within. When things change inside you, things change around you. We normally think the opposite. We wait for the right moment to come, for the right person to meet, for the right place to travel, for a miracle to happen. Yet, in the end, nothing changes until you do. 

The strongest force in human personality is the need to stay consistent with the way we identify ourselves. Therefore, it is within our power and ability to discover our true identity in order to reach our full potential. 

As long as we are conditioned by the rules and values of the society in which we live, we often do not even realize that we each possess unique strengths and talents. The voices of parents, friends, education, and media all crowd a young person’s mind, seeding beliefs and values. Society’s definition of a happy life is everybody’s and nobody’s at the same time. The only way to build a meaningful life is to filter out that noise and look within.

Jay Shetty has offered a beautiful metaphor in his book “Think like a monk” illustrating influences that obscure our true selves. When he just became a monk and moved to live in the ashram, his spiritual teacher Gauranga Das took him to the storeroom lined with unused books and boxes full of artifacts. Unlike the rest of the ashram, which was very clean and tidy, this place was full of dust. The senior monk led him to a mirror and asked: “What can you see?” Through the sick layer of dust, Jay couldn’t even see his reflection. The monk then wiped the arm of his robe across the glass. A cloud of dust puffed into Jay’s face stringing his eyes and filling his throat. The monk said: “Your identity is a mirror covered with dust. When you first look in the mirror, the truth of who you are and what your value is obscured. Clearing it may not be pleasant, but only when the dust is gone can you see your true reflection.”

I enjoy remembering the beginning of my journey. I was confused, uncertain, and even scared at times. The process is not always pleasant, and it might even be painful at times simply because you realize that most of your life has been an illusion. Once you clear the dust and connect with your true identity, you literally become limitless and open horizons you couldn’t even imagine…