The Art of Creating Ourselves

A couple of years ago while I was living in South Africa, I was traversing the thin alleys of one of their magical markets. It was there that I found this wooden sign. It read: “the most creative act you will ever undertake is the act of creating yourself.”

At the time I didn’t actually understand or agree with the quote. What do you mean “creating yourself?” Wouldn’t creating yourself be inauthentic? Don’t we simply have to be ourselves?

But, still, something in me felt the need to buy it. Something in me felt it would hold significance and importance for me in the future.

My past self was right. Now, that quote is meaningful for me and a concept I reflect on often. I constantly question who I am, who I’m becoming, who I want to be. Growing and evolving are inevitable, but if we do not stay aware of the process, we can grow in autopilot mode. We can look back and realise who we’re becoming isn’t who we had hoped. We can realise we don’t know who we are at all.

What does it mean to create ourselves? I don’t mean we create ourselves in the sense of putting on an act. We create ourselves in the way we intentionally decide how we want to show up for our lives.

In order to do this we must ask ourselves the right questions.

What does it mean to be ourselves? People say : Just be yourself…. and sometimes it is that simple. Sometimes it is as simple as showing up and just being and it doesn’t take any effort. But, that usually happens when we have put in the work, the work of creating ourselves. I know I am creating someone who is authentically me when it feels good. What feels good, though, can change on a daily (minute by minute?) basis.

I think there is an art to being ourselves. There are so many details to it: There is unlearning who we’re not, who we were taught to be. There is the need to shed past versions of ourselves. The act of stepping into who we are becoming. Then, there is the process of realising when we are not being authentic. There is the work of integrating different aspects of ourselves. Allowing ourselves to show up different whenever we need to. Dissecting the labels, roles, identities we have put on ourselves. Being curious about who we are, questioning things…

Being ourselves can be a constant work in progress. We get to decide how we want to show up in the world, who we want to show up as. We have the privilege of discovering who we are and creating ourselves from that authentic aligned space.

Do you feel like you work on the art of creating yourself? Do you question who you are becoming and who you want to be? Do you grow in autopilot mode? Do you show up in your life with intention?

I would love to know what comes up for you as you begin to take stock of these questions.

***

I am

Everyone I used to be and

Everyone I will become

In each moment I am

Letting go of old pieces

Piecing together what I’ve lost

Growing into new

Permanently connected to it all

Always aiming to be

The most authentic

Present

Me