When Nicknames and Labels Begin to Shape My Identity
Do you have a nickname or a phrase you respond to that isn’t your legal name? When we hear things repetitively they carry weight even when they feel harmless in the moment. As we come in agreement with these phrases, they begin to shape our identity. What we choose to answer to becomes what we believe about our body, our personality, and our future by shaping what we believe to be true about ourselves.
The Pressure to Be Approved, Liked, and Accepted
We naturally conform to what we hear over and over again naturally shaping our identity. Eventually you find yourself struggling to see yourselves differently. Now you find yourself people pleasing! While we seek other’s approval and to feel accepted that shouldn’t be the reason we change who we are. We don’t say or do things for other people. In doing so, we will lose ourselves in the process.
Social media magnifies this pressure. Our lives feel public and evaluated on every level. Culture tells us if our identity is successful or not. The culture we are around tells us what productivity and appearance should be. Seeking approval makes a poor foundation to form our identity. While we want approval, it can’t be the source of our worth.
Rooting Our Identity in Christ & Not By Our Actions
What is my identity?
Where have I pulled things in that shaped my identity?
Only those who gave us life, our parents and ultimately God, have the authority to give us a name. As you read ephesians 1-2, you discover you are chosen, loved, redeemed, and created with purpose.
Our calling comes before our accomplishments. While what we do doesn’t define us, it does shape how we walk in our calling to its fullest potential. While our actions may not be wrong, we must separate them from who we are.
When our identity is rooted in Christ, it brings freedom. Success no longer owns us, but we own success. What we do begins to flow from who we are, not the other way around.
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