Our opinion of ourselves matters a great deal. It matters so much that if we see ourselves in a negative light it becomes almost impossible to make much of our lives. If we view ourselves as failures, success is sure to elude us. If when we glance in the mirror, all we see staring back at us is ugly and unattractive, it doesn't matter what others might say to encourage us. We walk through life seeing ourselves through the lens by which we view ourselves. We truly become all that we think that we are. So, who do you say that you are?

The extension of how we see ourselves is how others see us. It is important to know that people will always have an opinion as to who they think we are. They call us creative, brilliant, hard-working, pretty, handsome, attractive, calm, friendly, difficult, flirtatious, unattractive, small, fat, skinny, lazy or unfriendly. When the assessment is less than ideal, it often has the tendency to sink deep into the recesses of our minds such that if we are not careful, we start to see ourselves exactly the way that others see us. We forget that their assessment is simply just an opinion - a reflection of who they are more than who we might be. It is important to remember that what they say or think that we are is really none of our business.

Someone wise once said, "It's not what people call you that matters but what you answer to." What kind of names do you answer to? Who are you listening to? What circumstances or who are you allowing to define you? Are you terribly critical of yourself? Have you name-called your own life into a box that you are struggling to get out of? Did someone call you a name that you now bear fully and are living out?

The truth is nothing anyone ever says about you has any power over you, although what you say to yourself about yourself does have some significant power. To this end, think only the best about yourself. Start to think your way to the success you long for. It will take some level of courage to move beyond what other might say about you but this is courage you must acquire. Your life changes when you realize you have the ultimate power of choice. Filter out wrong thoughts, the words and opinions of others that will do nothing to support your mission. Listen to what is good. Feed your mind on that which is good and watch your life change for the better.