When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see? When you consider your personality, can you, without hesitation, name ten qualities that you possess?  Or is the way that you view yourself clouded by the opinions of others?

The best life advice I can give is this: Learn to define yourself.

What I mean is that you need to determine who you are (and who you aren’t) and then learn to like yourself – as is. You are God’s special creation.  He made you in a certain way for a reason.  That means that there is nothing wrong with you. You are perfectly created.

The problem is that the world likes to disagree with God. From your family to your friends to your co-workers, lots of people will gladly offer up their two cents as to what they think is wrong with you.  So, you have to make a choice.  Are you going to trust God and his decision to create you in a certain way?  Or are you going to trust the opinions of other people?  The answer is easy: Trust God.

The problem with the world is that the world doesn’t always give you accurate feedback regarding who you are. For instance, I grew up in a household in which I was never told that I was smart.  My father had received his PhD from an Ivy League school, and the unspoken message was,” You’ll never be as smart as your father.”  My parents didn’t even look at my school report cards because there wasn’t any point in tracking my academics.

Now I could have taken in that message and been defeated. But God’s message to me was far more powerful.  His message was this: You are capable. And that message gave me the confidence to graduate from both college and law school.  And it allowed me to succeed in demanding jobs in the law.

The point is that other people’s opinions of you have very little to do with who you are. So, you must define who you are without the influence of others.  You must learn to value yourself as a beautiful and perfect creation of God.

This week, start the process of defining yourself. Look in the mirror and pick five things that you like about your appearance.  There is nothing vain about his exercise!  You are God’s creation, and you should like his handiwork.

Then think about your attributes. Name ten qualities that you possess.  And don’t simply parrot what other people have told you.  List the qualities that you know you possess, even if no one else knows about them.  For example, you may have a wonderful voice, but no one has had the opportunity to hear you sing.  You may be highly skilled in math, but you haven’t had the opportunity to show off your talents.  List the talents that you know you have.

It is so important that we define ourselves. Don’t allow the world to do it for you.  The world didn’t create you – God did.  Trust that He made you perfectly for the special purpose that He wants you to fulfill on this earth.  You are just right in every way.

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