Who you are vs. What you have

Who would you be if everything that could be taken from you was taken from you? 

No more money, no more relationships, no more house, no more cars, no more status, no more coffee (this one is brutal). 

I want you to really visualize yourself in this position. What are the fundamental values, beliefs, and virtues that cannot be taken away from you?

You see, we too often associate ourselves with what we have rather than who we are… and this is dangerous.

If you let a friend borrow your favorite book and they lost it, how would you react? You could definitely get pissed and yell and never talk to your friend (now enemy) again. Or, you can acknowledge that your book was just a materialistic possession, and you can always get a new one. In other words, it’s simply something you had. 

The more we can disassociate with these external things, the more resilient we become. 

When we are confident in who we are, external things lose their power over us. We’re able to enjoy things while we have them, and lovingly let them go when it’s time. 

“It’s only after you’ve lost everything that you’re free to do anything”  -Fight Club. 

I ask that you hypothetically lose everything. Put yourself in that position and ask yourself…

Who am I?

These ideas come from this video by PsycHacks. I highly recommend his channel. 

Keep making progress. Change for the better. Live the Heming-way. 

Til next time,

Trevor