It’s been said that “I Am” are two of the most powerful words in the English language – because what you put after them literally defines you.  How you define yourself has a powerful impact on how you live, what you pursue, what you accomplish and more.  It literally drives your motivation… or lack thereof.  Some years back my son brought home a school assignment that required him to complete a series of statements, “I am” among them.  I did the exercise with him and revisited it just the other day.  It gave me pause and made me think.

When you stop and think about all the labels we each wear, every one of them applicable and accurate, how do you decide which “side” of you is most important?  It’s almost an impossibility unless you make the list of them and then put them in order.  Some of them are difficult, at best, to prioritize.  For instance, my first four “I AM” items were military veteran, police officer, husband and father.  I can’t change the Veteran status; and wouldn’t even if I wanted to for whatever odd reason.  I am a veteran of police work as well and wouldn’t be willing to change that either.  I am a husband.  I am a father.  I would choose father over all of the other three if I was forced to make a choice.  But deciding which to give up – husband or father – isn’t a choice I’d make lightly. Ultimately it’s a choice my wife would agree with.  To give up being a husband means getting divorced. To give up being a father means four children die.  No choice to be made after all, eh?

WHAT we are, though, isn’t just determined by the labels we wear…

– – – – – – – – – – –

This entry is part of the book “A Fork In The Road; Navigating Your Path of Life with Motivation.” To read the complete entry and enjoy all of the other similar works, please purchase the book on Amazon.com by following this link: http://amzn.to/2j0T4D0

Thank you for your readership and your interest!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *