Creating Myself

As you may know already, one of my favorite quotes is “Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” By George Bernard Shaw. I am discovering the power in creating.

Something I learned from the Klemmer seminars I’ve been to is “what I think is what I create.” The crazy thing is that hasn’t been the first time I’ve heard that before. I am part of a support group and we’ve talked about the same concept. Taking captive of our thoughts. (I’ll share what support group I’m in, in another blog post. So stay tuned).

On top of learning these concepts from two places, I took a free class given by a life coach. She talks all about our thoughts and their impact. One thing she said, I found very profound, “If we think something, we will find evidence to prove it.” -Katie Chavez

Gasp! I had been creating an awful version of myself. I thought I was unworthy of connection. I thought I was an outcast. I thought something was wrong with me because I did not know how to connect with other people. People would love me and I felt a lack.

These thoughts of mine created my reality. I found evidence everywhere of how I was unworthy of true connection. One of my worst childhood memories involved feeling abandoned and rejected. I held onto that memory because it was evidence that everything wrong that happened in my life was deserved. Every rejection, every ended friendship, every time I was left out or forgotten was evidence of what I thought.

But what if I thought differently? I heard the concept of the importance of thoughts from a fourth source. In fact, this concept is so valuable the Bible talks about it.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
Take captive every thought? Not take captive every feeling. Not take captive the situation.
Our thoughts are so powerful that they need to be taken captive and made obedient to Christ.

Another verse comes to mind when I think about how powerful our minds and thoughts are. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV
This renewing of the mind. What would that look like?

By thinking of my life differently, I have created friendships. I have created connection. I have created opportunities. I think that I am worthy of love and good things. I find evidence of worth and good things.

Our minds cannot hold two thoughts simultaneously. We can only truly give our focus to one thought. Why not choose thoughts? Why not take captive what we’re thinking?

I am creating myself one captive thought at a time.

Here is a beautiful portrait that a Sunday school student drew of me. I love her art.