One day you will realize that you’re not yourself.  There will be a feeling of abandonment and betrayal within your heart.  You’ll ask yourself; how did I get here? Why am I here?  Really, who am I?  Have you ever felt not like yourself?  Have you ever felt uncomfortable where you are?  I am sure we all have at some point in time, whether we recognized it or not.  I write this article because I know many people who feel this way and it gets to me and makes me feel so helpless.  I don’t know how to help someone realize they have left their true self behind.  It’s their job to go and find them.

It’s pretty easy to leave your true self behind.  Let’s take this example in to consideration.  You grow up in a religion and you are taught the ways of the Lord.  You are asked to follow His teachings and to help others.  You live your life happy and you progress quickly.  You are doing great things, along the way you make mistakes but that doesn’t bother you because you know you can be forgiven.  You get to a certain age where you are questioning more and more.  You want to explore this beautiful creation we live on.  You taste of the bitter and the sweet things it has to offer.  You slowly put off the things you used to to do so easily, scripture study, prayer, and church attendance.  Now you are far from the place you called your refuge.  You have stopped progressing exponentially.  You now feel remorse, guilt, and sadness.  You are wanting to find a reason why so you blame the religion or your family for making you live a life “you never chose to live.”  You say, “I never had a choice” and keep living a worldly life that brings temporary happiness and quick joy.  You appear to be happy, but you convince yourself of such happiness.  You justified your actions so you don’t have to go back.  Your family didn’t leave you, your religion didn’t leave you, God certainly didn’t leave you (because He can’t possibly do so.)  You left yourself, your true self behind.  Your eternal progress was hindered as you stepped away.

The anguish you feel inside is caused by your spirit telling you that this isn’t you.  Your spirit feels uncomfortable in the mortal body it’s in now.  The things you do are not what it needs, wants, and deserves.  Your spirit knows exactly who you are and it knows exactly what you need to be happy, successful, and correct.  People leave their true selves behind in many ways and for many reasons.  The universal truth of all of them is you are not being you!  I believe we were all together living with our Heavenly Father in heaven before we came to earth.  We developed our personalities, traits, talents, emotions, and abilities there.  We cultivated faith, hope, and charity.  We were are true selves there.  We came to earth to show our Heavenly Father who we are and make Him proud!  We all get lost at some point or another, the real trial is finding our true selves again.  I found my  true self when I immersed myself in the service of my Father in Heaven 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 2 years.  I still leave my true self behind constantly.  Losing sight of who we are brings some of the most hurtful feelings one can have, why do you think you feel so lost and alone?

Being true to who we are and who God needs us to be is bliss.  I promise that finding your true self is when your success, happiness, and direction will all change drastically for the better.  Don’t leave thyself behind any longer because you deserve better!  Keep your head up and be your true self today you’re closer than you think.

“If you can’t be true to yourself you cannot be true to anyone else.” -Riley Nielsen