There is nothing so easily remade as the definitions of ourselves. - Dinaw Mengetsu

“People can’t change”

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”

“You can’t change who you really are”

You’ve probably heard these more than once. But is this really true?

Are you really the same person you were 5 years ago?  Do you have the same challenges, dreams and ambitions that you did last year?

How about the way you approach life in general? Do you think the 20 year-old ‘you’ would be congruous with the current ‘you’?

Likely you have changed. The world has a way of carving new definition into us, much like water slowly (or at times dramatically) changing the face of stone. Slow currents, flash floods and light drizzle all change their landscapes, just at different tempos and in different shapes. For us, it may be burnout from our job, a divorce, a health crisis, boredom, or pretty much any aspect of the human condition that changes us at different stages in our life.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we have likely undergone significant change in our lives.

We evolve and grow based on our experiences. Hopefully we’ve learned from some mistakes, we’ve gained new perspective from being challenged in our beliefs, and the people we’ve met and engaged with have taught us along the way.

Remaking yourself doesn’t mean you become a different person. Maybe it’s more of an opportunity to carve away the things that aren’t really you, and allow your true self to shine through. It is most certainly about being open to, and aware of the ways in which your life is shaping you.

We take on the guise of success that society finds acceptable, but over time some aspects of that success may not fit as well as we would like. Sometimes we find that habits, activities, projects and goals that we have pursued are in fact not our own, but truly belong outside of ourselves.

We can redefine what it means to be ‘us’. There is no right definition, or wrong definition, after all.

What if you could free yourself from habit of your own thinking? Would you still choose the same paths you’ve always chosen? Or is something else more interesting to you now?

Challenge yourself to really consider your current path, your choices, your goals and priorities.

Do they truly reflect the definition of yourself that you want? Are they in sync with what you know the goals of your heart to be?

If not, it’s ok. It’s a matter of observing and acknowledging when things are out of sync, and then taking right action to get back on track.

Right action means ensuring that your action matches your heart. Right action means being authentic in your choices, and having the courage to change course when your current reality is not on the right track.

We can redefine ourselves anytime we want.

The changes can be subtle, or they can be significant.

Can’t teach an old dog new tricks? I don’t think that’s true.

Change, and pursuit of your true self can be invigorating and fun! You just need to figure out a new treat/goal/project/perspective to get excited about!

Give it a try!