Misdiagnosed co-dependent.

“Bottom line: be yourself. It’s exhausting if you’re not. And if you get enough people to dislike you, you’ll be left with a new bunch of people who love you for who you really are.”

James Smith

We all want people to love us. Of course we do. But at what cost? What are you willing to do or give to receive that love. And if you need to do or give away something of yourself to receive that love, to earn it, is it real?

I spent years upon years becoming someone I wasn’t just to please somebody else. To be loved. To be good enough. To be accepted. I was labelled a people pleaser. Co-dependent. I made choices that I didn’t agree with and even lied, all to unsuccessfully please that one person. For that one person, I gave up myself… I got lost. My identity became muddy. Blurred. Faded.

The truth, my truth, is that I am not that person. I am not, nor have I ever been a people pleaser or co-dependent. I care little about what people think of me. Correction. I care little about what strangers or mere acquaintances think of me. I am not afraid to be goofy in public. To act upon a dare. Or to worry about offending those that cause unnecessary drama or gossip. To give thought and energy to those that judge or disrespect me is just not in my nature. I lost myself once in order to cope with a life I was embedded in. But it was never my nature.

To be yourself and to be loved should never require a different mindset. Separate sources of energy. It should require no energy at all. Just pure peace. Pure joy. Pure soul. Trust in yourself. Trust in your own true character. Be confident in who you are without trying to ‘make’ others love you. Do this and you will find love in your life greater than yourself. You won’t have to look.

Today… I am true. I am confident. I am loved.