“If you are anything like me, your past is filled with failed attempts at your seasonal definition of greatness, littered with triumphant tries that amounted to nothing, and piled up with genius ideas and plans that never launched due to inaction.”

January is about to close out, are you the new ideal you yet? You know — your ideal self.

The ideal self is taking the idea and thoughts of things you want to do or how you want to be and becoming those things.

I find this thought process disturbing.

Why are there so many people that are either so unhappy with who they are, or don’t have a clue who they are, to the point that they say: I want to be somebody new?

When I was a younger kid (because I am still a kid, just bigger, with a beard and bills and many leather bound books) my mom would read me a Dr. Seuss book, I Want To Be Somebody New by Robert Lopshire.

It’s a story about a Seuss-size talking cat named Spot explaining to a couple of children how he thinks he would be happier if he were somebody different than himself. He transforms into many different animals but just can’t get it right; he fails at being an animal other than himself, and the children he is showing this trick to are not convinced that being something other than himself is the right way to live.

Spot’s mantra throughout the entire story is, “I want to be somebody new.” In the end, the children convince him that he should just be himself — he is enough, he is unique, he is worthy — and it’s what makes him special.

It can be difficult to feel accepting of yourself. After all, who knows your mistakes, flaws, and failures better than you? We can be our own worst critic, our own worst enemy, and even our own reason for not pursuing the progress that would make us the happiest.
Continue reading