It’s perfectly okay not to be the person you were yesterday, as your former self helped you become the individual you are today.
The person you were yesterday is not the person you are today. Life is about evolving and having the tenacity needed to strive for self-improvement. The individual you were yesterday was an essential component, both challenging and assisting you in overcoming many hurdles. Simultaneously, shaping you into the person you are today.
The Importance of Understanding the Person You Were Yesterday
You had to be the person you were yesterday to navigate through numerous challenges. It’s no secret that life can throw a fair amount of obstacles your way. Being that person was your way of shielding yourself while fiercely protecting your heart from all the unfairness you had to face. In no way does it signify that your older version is superior to the current one. On the contrary, both versions are equally remarkable, and without one, there wouldn’t be the other.
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View it this way: your past self needed to experience all those hardships to teach this new version of yourself valuable lessons, ultimately highlighting your strength and abilities. Achieving those things wasn’t easy, as doubt had a tendency to creep in, but you did it. Unfortunately, life unfolded as it did. And yet, without such experiences, you would have remained oblivious to your own strength and determination.
It’s Okay to Change and Not Be the Same
Having been through what you had to encounter, it doesn’t imply that you have to continue to perform as you did in the past. Oh no! It signifies evolution and a new perspective in seeing life through a fresh set of lenses, which assisted in amplifying your greatness and brings forth a sense of self-discovery.
You had to be who you were yesterday to confront the adversity you unjustly had to deal with. Unfortunately, you can’t erase the hardships life unfairly handed you, resulting in the heightening of your strength and resilience, which might otherwise have remained hidden.
Life forced you to embody certain characteristics in the past necessary to withstand the storm. Still, it is not an indication that one is required to continue being the exact same way as before. Now, you have the knowledge and maturity to identify the proper way to act, in accordance with your true and authentic self. The fact is that change is inevitable, and worrying about whether or not you are the same person as you were yesterday does not hold any real value in the present. Tom Krause summarized it perfectly in the following quote:
“You are not who you were yesterday. You are not who you will be tomorrow. You are who you are today.”
Tom Krause
The Reality of Personal Transformation
The harsh reality is that you are not the same. Just as years change, so do people, some more than others depending on the traumatic events they have faced. A trauma is a trauma—no matter the level of negative impact it has caused or the number of times one tries to evade it. Naturally, a traumatic event can be categorized differently by different people. And that is perfectly okay.
Change is often viewed negatively from the outside. Actually, outsiders typically don’t have the remotest idea of the emotional pain you had to go through to be where you are today. We have the bad habit of placing judgment on the unknown, which is so much easier than being in someone else’s shoes for even if it is just one day.
How Past Actions Were Simply Strategies for Dealing with Adversity
Things can seem all colorful and rainbows from the outside. But dare to look inside, and you will see the storm that is brewing within. A prime example is the controversy surrounding celebrities. We often perceive them as leading glamorous and luxurious lives, adored by many. Unbeknownst to us, mental exhaustion is a regular occurrence as the world has placed them in this pedestal-an untouchable and lonely pedestal, nonetheless. Over time, the behavior of these individuals slowly begins to shift, and the world starts to blame them for altering their characteristics and behaviors.
Our behaviors are reflections of our past experiences, serving as coping mechanisms. These mechanisms defend us from any signs of disturbance that could disrupt our shield. “Your past is a part of you, and a new identity can only take hold if it’s connected to your prior identities” (Toubiana). Purposefully, we have to evolve in order to learn how to deal with life’s trials and tribulations. Being the individuals that we once were requires us to undo to the point of erasing the many adversities we have come into contact with. For that to happen, one would have to be reborn, which is impossible.
Welcome Change to Transform into Our Authentic Selves
Change is beautiful and innovative! Life is about changing and evolving to become better versions of ourselves. If someone accuses you of changing, kindly ask them to stop time. For that is the only way to avoid evolution. Anyway, change is necessary to become the amazing person you are meant to be!
Reference:
Toubiana, M., Turchick Hakak, L., & Ruebottom, T. (2022, January 28). When a major life change upends your sense of self. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/01/when-a-major-life-change-upends-your-sense-of-self
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Indeed, transforming and evolving in life is inevitable, since we are on a life journey that shapes us and leads us towards the person we are called to be. By accepting our personal journey, even if it’s challenging, we open up to a better version of ourselves. It’s a great post!
Author
Exactly! The challenges we encounter in life help to guide us toward our purpose by testing our strength and resilience. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
This was beautiful and deep. And yes, life is about evolving, growing and stretching yourself. Our past experiences, failures and lessons pave the way for future growth. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Author
Every failure is a lesson and every lesson is an opportunity to learn and to become better. Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Growing and evolving is key. This post is a great reminder of that.
Author
We need to grow and evolve to become the people we are meant to be. Thank you for commenting 🙂
I was not the same person today that I was yesterday. We all evolve and change. This is a great guide to understanding both positive and negative change.
Author
It is important to realize that it is not a bad thing to not be the same as we were yesterday. We need to embrace the who we are current and be proud of all the things we had to go through to get to where we are. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
I like this statement because it embraces the beauty of personal growth and the fluidity of our identities. It’s a reminder that change is not just inevitable but essential.
Author
Exactly! Not staying the same is a part of life and it is part of the territory. Thank you for your comment! 🙂
I am a big believer in fresh starts, and that they can happen at any time. Whether it’s a change from one day to the next or any other time frame, we can start again and experience personal growth. This is a lovely post to read as it’s so encouraging. I think more people need to know that transformation can begin whenever we decide to let it begin (and work on it).
Author
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Exactly! There is not a predetermine timeframe.The important thing here is that we keep moving forward and become the persons we are meant to be. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Change is definitely important, and something I am trying to accept and enjoy. Thank you for sharing this x
Author
We need change in order to become the persons that we are meant to be. Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Excellent post! I agree that our behaviors are a reflection of our past experiences. It’s crucial that we don’t allow our past experiences to negatively shape our future behaviors.
Author
Agreed 100%! We need to take every experience whether negative or positive as a learning lesson. Thank you for your comment 🙂
Change is a part of life. It can be difficult, but we must embrace the transformations and transitions. Thank you for the beautiful reminder.
Author
Exactly! We shouldn’t be afraid of change, what we should be afraid of is staying the same. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
What a beautiful reminder to embrace change! It’s nice to look back sometimes and see how far I’ve come and embrace both my current and past self. Thanks for sharing!
Author
We need to embrace both our current and past self because without one there would not be the other. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Thank you for sharing. What a beautiful post!
Author
Thank you for commenting! 🙂
You made some valid points. Change is absolutely good! We are not meant to stay the same. In order to grow, we must let go and that means letting go of we used to be before. I also liked that you pointed out to not bother people with changing because it can make them feel bad about something that is actually good for them and their evolution as a person. Nice and intelligent post.👏🏾
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Author
We would just be existing if we stay the same. Life is all about experiencing new things and letting go of anything that is limiting. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
It’s a great perspective to treat failure as learning. We need to be kinder to ourselves.
Author
Exactly! We need to care for ourselves the same way we care for others. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
This is a great post. We always think about how much we’ve changed over a year or 5 years but we can be so different day to day. So many things can impact how we act, think, feel and some days are not our best days but that’s okay.
Author
The day to day impact our character in the most minimal way as we are experiencing life. At times, we are unaware of our evolution until we notice that what was okay before isn’t okay anymore. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Change is inevitable.
Well put together post!
Author
Without change we wouldn’t be able to become the persons we are meant to be. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
“If someone accuses you of changing, kindly ask them to stop time.” I LOVED this! I think change is a great thing especially when it’s for the better. I also think it’s necessary to be able to live and adapt in an ever-changing world. This was a nice inspirational piece. Thank you.
Author
That’s my favorite quote too! I don’t like when people accuse others of changing as if it was a bad thing. If we don’t change, we aren’t living. Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Thank you for sharing these words of wisdom! Truly uplifting and powerful!
Author
It is something that people need to be aware of. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
This was such a great read! Thanks for sharing!
Author
Thank you for reading and commenting! 🙂
I enjoyed reading this post a lot! Change is the only constant of life. Not accepting change can only bring in pain and disappointments. We need to be flexible in this regard, no other option. Also, we should not judge ourselves for who we were or who we are, and we shouldn’t let other people’s judgement get to us either (or make peace with the fact that other’s will judge us regardless). It’s life; we are going to change, we are going to evolve. Thanks for sharing your insights on this topic!
Author
Exactly! It doesn’t matter what we do whoever want to judge will judge no matter what we do. We can’t become stagnant just to bring others comfort. Like you said change is the only constant of that and we should embrace it. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Such a great post – I agree, we are not the same person we evolve as time goes on and that’s perfectly ok.
Author
That is the beauty of life! We need to involve in order to become the persons we are meant to be. Thank you for commenting! 🙂