Beginning Self-Inventory

There comes a point in everyone's life where they begin questioning themselves, their circumstances, how they got to the point they are and they ponder their future.

I know this, because I'm doing it myself. I have reached a point in my life where I question all things - both good and bad - and I am making decisions as I go along.

A lot of self-inventory has occurred. And I'm still nowhere near finished. I find that I am questioning things about my past, my present and my future. More importantly, I am beginning to truly discover who I am and where I am going in my life, what I want out of my life and what I want for my children.

What's most important in a self-inventory is to be completely honest with yourself. When you ask yourself questions, you owe it to yourself to give completely honest answers. This has been a very difficult process for me, because I've had to face a lot of decisions that *I* made and the fact that a lot of those choices led myself down some very wrong paths in my life.

It's so easy to blame others or to use excuses when we don't want to face the flaws within ourselves or accept the decisions we've made as our own. I'm not talking about tearing yourself down or hating yourself, just honest acceptance and accountability.

When you reach the point of honesty and openness with YOURSELF, then making the right choices for yourself is a whole lot easier. I find myself crying and laughing at times, sometimes at the same time, but yet, I'm still here and I'm moving forward. This time, I think it's in the right direction. Time will tell, but at least I feel good about the steps I'm taking.

A big, positive change in a positive direction. Another day, another chance. Sometimes another chance and hope are all we have to hold onto.

 

Simply Be Yourself, Not Your Past

        Too often, we are bombarded with recollections of our past - whether these come in the form of reminiscing with friends or family, places, things or even just self-inventory. If our past is less than stellar, it is all too easy to internalize those mistakes, continuing to hold onto that past and believe that we are too intertwined with our past to ever get past it.

        In effect, we begin to believe that we are either a product of our past or that we are still our past. If we do not let go of our past and all of the mistakes we have made while traveling through our life path, then we remain stuck in the past. Believing we are our past and its mistakes, takes us to a point of losing hope and any motivation for moving forward or making changes in our lives.

         Which leads to the question of, what do you do when you've lost hope and motivation? Take a self-inventory. Look at yourself, those around you and past choices you've made. Realize that you have more options that you have ever really thought possible and recognize that you are where you are now due to choices that you yourself have made.

      One of the most important things you can do for yourself is to realize that you are not the person you were in your past. Each moment that passes, is another step away from the person you were yesterday, the day before, weeks, months and years before. When we realize that we are not the person who made those mistakes, it becomes easier to make the right decisions and to follow the path best suited to reach our goals.

      An amazing part of being a human being is the ability to make mistakes, while being able to learn from those mistakes so that we can become the person we want to be and have the life we truly want. If you find yourself in a position of being unable to make a decision or choose between two different paths, think back to past situations and your reactions to them.

     We often do the most growing and make the best choices for ourselves in the midst of crisis, as long as we are willing to open our eyes to our own flaws and mistakes of our past. Choosing to put your past behind you and realizing that you are who you are today due to your past, goes a long way toward letting go and finding your true self.

      Once you find your true self or know who it is you want to be, you can find hope again, set goals and start taking the steps to get the life you want for yourself.