Once you really see yourself for how you have been, and see the person you are designed to become, the real action starts! "Being yourself" is about living what you have come to understand as your designed way of being. We are meant to be humble, selfless, and giving towards others. What does this mean? It means no longer pursuing happiness in the search of what we call the deep idols: (1) power, (2) acceptance from others, (3) comfort, and (4) control. These deep idols were critical items to many of us, until we came to understand that they are fleeting and ultimately lead to misery.

Living a humble, selfless life is tough stuff. It is clear to me that I am completely unable to do this on my own. I need more than a little help ... I need a lot of help to live my life in this way. Here is the key: once I realized that there is a God, and this God loves me despite all of my poor performance, it became easier to "be my new self". Gone is the focus on rules and standards, as I entered into a relationship based on unwavering love between God and myself.

The fact that God loves me despite my actions puts me in a position of having to show this same grace to others. When I say, "having", I am not saying there is some rule that I must follow. I mean that when I really comprehended the grace shown to me, I couldn't fathom any other path than trying to show grace to others.

Trying to be the person we are designed to be is not easy ... but it is basically impossible without the comprehension that someone has already shown you the way.