When it comes to how you identify yourself, there are countless amounts of objectives you can use. When you look at the experiences you have lived through, what comes to mind for you? Do you see yourself as a survivor, warrior, victim, or fighter?
How you perceive and identify yourself will ultimately help you or deter you along your life journey. The way to answer that question is the quality of life you will live.
I was raised to have a victim mentality and lived that way for way too many years. I wasn’t until I decided I needed to change my mentality that my life began to change. It took a lot of self-love and nurturing to identify with my warrior identity today.
My life journey thus far has shown me there is a mind-body connection, and it is vital to remain healthy if you’ve had trauma in your life.
We may not have the same experiences, but the struggle I believe is the same.
When I identified as a victim, I had a sense of entitlement. Because I was broken everyone had to cater to me. What ever I was feeling was because It was someone else’s fault. I blamed everyone for everything. I have a complete lack of personal responsibility. Since life treated me wrong, I felt so deserved something almost like reparations for my misfortune. I was a complete mess as well as my life.
I’m sure we have all met a drama queen or king. They thrive on drama. It took meeting a drama queen to make me realize I was doing the same thing, only she was worse. To wake me up to the fact that I needed to change.
I had an immature outlook on life. Which was extreme black-and-white thinking. Black-and-white thinking doesn’t allow you to see life the way it really is. It keeps you from seeing life in a way it really is, complex, uncertain, and constantly changing. For example, if I didn’t do something perfect I was a failure. But I also see other people that way. My black-and-white thinking didn’t allow me to find the middle ground.
As a survivor, I learned to function and prosper despite opposition, hardship, or setbacks. As a survivor, I have the desire to live and carry on, despite adversity.
Everyone lives through adversity, and of course, the types, kinds, and severity of hardship vary for everyone. How a person reacts and copes is what is important.
Surviving means to move on, choosing to get through the day anyway you can and choosing to stay positive not matter what comes your way. Living and surviving each day is a win and a triumph. And that is an example of an absolute success.
From Pity to Praise 