The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Share on X
These compelling words by Ralph Waldo Emerson keep repeating in my mind. Sometimes I ask myself if I’ve become the person I had dreamed I would be when I was a little girl.
And then as I reread Emerson’s words you realize that the power behind your destiny is within you.
You become who you decide to be.
What I love about this right now well past half of my life is that these words also make me feel like it’s never too late to become whom you decide to be. Because we are always each moment of each day living out our becoming. We are ever always becoming. For our entire life we are deciding who we will be each day.
These days I’m more interested in the qualities I live and express regardless of what career choices I still make.
Such as…
Are you deciding you will be happy? Kind? Loving? Helpful? Generous? Thoughtful? Patient? Honest? Creative? Teachable? Open-minded? Willing? Forgiving?
Just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz who learned she always had the power to go back home, we can realize that we always have had and still do have the power to become the person we decide to be.
Our power has always been within.
So important to remember that when we feel like everything is out of our control and we have no power or it’s too late to make a change. It’s in those moments when we can’t change what’s outside of our control that we must recognize and change all that is within – our attitudes, our reactions, our decisions, our choices, our beliefs, our feelings.
It is what is WITHIN that we CAN change. We decide.
Each day offers us a fresh start. A do-over. New opportunities. Another chance.
It’s never too late to become the person we decide to be. What a relief!
Annette Bridges
Author, Publisher and Women's Retreat Host
Annette Bridges is an author, publisher and women’s retreat host on a mission to help every woman realize her story is extraordinary, valuable and noteworthy. Part of Annette’s own journaling practice includes collecting ideas, quotes, songs, videos and photos that inspire her. She shares some of her finds in these weekly “Be Inspired” posts to lift your spirit with encouragement, comfort and joy.
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