Identity - Fish Story
Haley Sculley: There is a famous quote that is usually attributed to Albert Einstein, I like googled and tried to look it up who it was. Most of the time people say that it's Albert Einstein. And I really think that this sums up our struggles with identity and self image pretty well. So I've used it quite a few times. But the quote goes like this, "everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish, by its ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life, believing that it is stupid."
So think about that for a minute, if, if a fish thinks I'm failing, because I can't climb a tree, it's gonna think that it's stupid, it's gonna live its whole life without appreciating its ability to swim.
I'm not a fish. But I have found myself at times, judging my own sense of identity and self image, by what I was not right instead of appreciating are judging myself by who I am and what I am.
So I've identified myself by the things that I lacked, or that I was unable to do. Like that fish that can't climb a tree. I struggled with my place in life, when I found life not looking like I thought it was supposed to. Or like maybe I felt like others expected it to look.
And I didn't just get angry at the circumstances, though. I got depressed about myself, I got angry with God, I was looking at myself through the wrong expectations, and constantly being disappointed in what I found, because of what I thought life was supposed to look like.
It has been a journey to accept and appreciate who God actually has created me to be and the giftings that he's given me and the blessings that he's given me. So I tried to change how I view myself and line that up with what God says. It's still a journey, but like the fish in the quote, I'm focused a lot more on swimming now than on trying to climb trees.
And there is a joy and a peace and I hope and I pray that you will begin to discover that through our time together as well.
Haley Scully | Master Life Coach
