From the moment we’re born, we’re handed a script. A collection of words, expectations, and identities shaped by our parents, teachers, society, sometimes even strangers. You’re shy. You’re smart. You’re too much. You’re not enough. And without question, we wear these labels like second skin, mistaking them for truth.
But here’s the thing: you are not what you’ve been told you are.
The Danger of Borrowed Identities
How often do we live under someone else’s definition of us? We absorb it young, carrying their words like baggage. Maybe you were called lazy as a kid, and now, even when you’re hustling harder than anyone, that voice in your head still whispers, You’re not doing enough. Maybe you were told you weren’t leadership material, so even when opportunities arise, you shrink yourself to fit their version of you.
But what if they were wrong?
What if the people who defined you were speaking from their own fears, their own limits? What if their words had nothing to do with you at all?
Who Would You Be Without Their Stories?
If you stripped away every label every name you were called, every assumption made about you who would you be? Would you be bolder? Would you take more risks? Would you finally trust yourself instead of waiting for permission?
Here’s the truth: you get to decide who you are. Not your past. Not the people who misunderstood you. Not the voices that tried to contain you.
Rewrite the Narrative
This isn’t about ignoring feedback or rejecting self-awareness. It’ s about distinguishing who you actually are from who you’ve been told to be. It’s about recognizing that some of the beliefs you hold about yourself aren’t yours they were handed to you, and you accepted them without questioning.
So start questioning.
-What words have shaped you that no longer serve you?
-What identities have you outgrown, but still cling to out of habit?
-Who would you be if you weren’t afraid of disappointing someone?
Step Into Who You Truly Are
If you’ve been waiting for permission to redefine yourself, here it is: You are allowed to change. You are allowed to be more than what they expected. You are allowed to break free from every narrative that no longer fits.
Because at the end of the day, the only person who truly gets to define you is you.