One of the greatest days in your life is the day you decide that your life is your own– yours to change and yours to stop trying to be someone you are not. If you look closely at all the leaders, mentors and people you hold up as good examples, it is my guess that those people are all comfortable within their own skin, and they all have a healthy self-esteem.

There is a confidence and boldness that comes with knowing who you are and who you are not and being ok with the result. There have been many people that live their entire lives, having never resolved within themselves who they are. Many people have passed on with the music of life still in their hearts because they were afraid to let the world know who they are.

I watched an interview of a Marine that while on duty in Afghanistan, was shot in the face. I think they said he has had 50 surgeries to fix things as best they could. Is it still noticeable when you see him, absolutely. When people look at him, they see a grateful man that is perfectly bold in speaking and meeting people. When he talks, you do not see a person with cast down eyes, shy and embarrassed. He is so engaging and so bold that it is simply beautiful to watch him. He does not care what people think. What a hero and what an example.

I have met many people with physical flaws, impediments, and handicaps that are much bolder than people without any imperfections. It’s actually quite amazing to see the difference between people that are impaired in some fashion and the people that have no issues. I have seen men that seem to have all the class, skill education, looks, speech, and everything you could wish for, but still fall short in life because of low self-esteem.

The decision to finally step over the barrier and say this is who I am and I like it is one of the greatest moments a person can have. At that moment, the person has decided to live his or her own life without all the baggage they have been carrying around. Graveyards are full of people that never could step over that barrier and actually like who they are and anchor themselves in a healthy self-esteem.

Hopefully, if you are reading this blog you have no issues in this regard. If you do, just know that it is a very special and very freeing day when you decide that your life is your own and you stop letting everyone else have the control over you. KT