I AM WHAT I AM

"I am the greatest.  I said that even before I knew I was."

-Muhammad Ali

I AM WHAT I AM.

This statement is both the saving grace for mankind and its greatest, misunderstood statement.

So often in life we hear someone say as a means of justification for something, “I am what I am,” but the same people that make this proclamation rarely understand the power that’s found within the words. 

This statement is quite possibly the most powerful combination of words in the English language.  Let’s take a closer look at the implications of such a statement and why this combination of words can either be the downfall of a person or their greatest accomplishment.

Normally when someone says “I am what I am,” they’re saying it as an excuse for not being who someone thinks they should be; this statement is normally reserved for the context of making an excuse for a lack of effort or self-control. 

When I think of the situation that this phrase is most commonly used in I think of someone being questioned for a behavior they’re exhibiting, usually being one of negative connotation.  For example: when someone’s significant other catches them cheating, or catches them doing something that seems very out of character.  This phrase is primarily used at the end of a relationship or at the beginning of what could have been a friendship or meaningful relationship.  “I am what I am” carries a lot of negative residue because people through the ages have lost the knowledge and understanding of the power that can be found within this statement.

Let’s break down the first part of this statement so I can show you what I think it means…

I AM:  This portion of the phrase which makes up the first two words of the statement and the last two words of the statement is the meat of its meaning.  “I AM” carries the bulk of the weight here, it also carries the most residual energy from our past.  When you attack this phrase as something that defines a person because of their past then you've overlooked the underlying meaning of these words.  I AM is an ever-evolving, living and breathing statement of how things are for us, it’s alive in three succinct yet unifying parts… I AM me today, I AM me from yesterday, and I AM me for tomorrow.  In just these two words we see that the statement I AM has a threefold meaning:  past, present, and future.  I AM a product of my past decisions; I AM the product of my current environment, I AM the sum of my future choices… I AM ME.  

In all ways this phrase of “the great I AM” is evolving, fluctuating, and redefining.  Once we come to grips with the living nature of these two words we can begin to see just how powerful the phrase as a whole can be.

The key to understanding the significance of the phrase ‘I am what I am,” is to understand that it is not a final definition of who you are at any given moment, but a phrase that defines who you can be at any given moment.

If you believe this phrase limits the definition of who you are, think again.  This phrase is literally exploding with nothing more than endless possibility.  This phrase at its root level is the embodiment of who we are as a person… limitless.

Let’s take a look at the scenario from the beginning I referred to where someone is caught cheating on their significant other and when approached about it their retort is ‘I am what I am.”  In this case it seems like a cop-out huh?  What needs to come into account here is not after the deed of cheating is done, but the very act of cheating itself.  If this person who cheated thought for any moment that they were indeed not a cheater, then the action of cheating would never take place.  When you don’t know who you are you leave your life open for other people to define it.  If you know what I AM as faithful, if you make this choice to know yourself as faithful then why would you ever cheat?  Knowing who you are can be defined as the choices you make and the motivation behind them.  You are constantly making statements to the universe about who you are by the choices you make, but how often do you reaffirm to yourself the definition of “you?”

The very act of choosing who you are on a constant basis is the limit to which the power of this statement can hold for you.  When you realize that who you are is up to you and always open for rediscovery you can begin to let go of past programming that no longer suits your grandest vision of yourself.  Past heartaches, past trials, past bad decisions, your family, your hometown, they all become just another set of choices for how you NOW choose to define yourself.  Will you in this moment of now allow the sins of your father define you as a man today, or will you choose a definition that better fits who it is you desire to be?  When you see this phrase as the great liberator put into words, you begin to let go of the past issues that haunt your being and you begin to grow into the being that lies dormant inside all of us: a being of limitless potential, capable of moving mountains if need be.

When you believe that you are who you choose to be you see that the statement goes from “I am what I am” to “I am what I choose I am.”  How amazing is that to think about?  How powerful is that thought?…

I guess it’s as powerful as you choose to believe it is right?

This statement is freeing, it’s living, it’s limitless, it’s you at your greatest, or you at your least.  The statement “I am what I am” is your key to success and happiness beyond your wildest dreams. 

Be who you know you can be, be who you want to be, be who you choose to be. 

Think about these words and let them pierce the armor of your soul, for if you don’t you just might be someone else tomorrow who gives up control over your life, or one who gets caught telling someone for the worst possible reason, “I am what I am.”

What is Your Mission Statement?

Before we can really dive into the topic of mission statements, their importance, and how to form one, we need to have a good, working definition of just what a mission statement is…  Wikipedia defines a mission statement as: A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person, its reason for existing.

For the purpose of this thought I want to focus on the personal aspect of a mission statement, why it’s important to have one, and the heightened sense of purpose that one can gleam from making one to fit their life.  The website, eHow.com, put it perfectly in their response to the question: what is a mission statement:

“A personal mission statement is a written culmination of values, roles, objectives, and self-reflection and self-evaluation. It has the flexibility to change as you change and the ability to keep you focused when you travel down a path that is not acceptable to your own morals and values. Creating a personal mission statement is the first step to a life of success and satisfaction, and anybody with a little time can create one.” By James G. Pradke, eHow Contributor

It’s very common in life to go through your days, your weeks, months, and the years of your life without every really knowing why you’re living, or for that matter, what you’re living for.  What a mission statement can do for you is give you focus and direction towards being a certain kind of person, and it can keep you in line with your highest ideals that you hold about yourself.

In a world where we as people are constantly being pushed from here to there without as much as a thank you from our calendars, it’s growing increasingly important to be able to say “no” to things that conflict with what we want most.  But what happens to the person who doesn’t know who they are or what they stand for?  They get lost in the commotion of life; they grow old and die, and all without reaching their full potential as a human being.

Have you ever wanted to be able to say no to certain things in life and yes to more of what you’d really like to explore?  Have you ever had the sinking suspicion that you were made for more than your current day-to-day?..  A mission statement can help you answer those questions and it can simultaneously help direct the course your life takes from the minute you create your own.

If you don’t stand for something as a person you will inevitably fall for anything.  If you are not grounded in an ideal or a desire in your life, then the wind will be all that’s needed to dissuade you from any course of action, worthwhile or not.

I found that by setting a mission statement for my life I was instantly aligned with what meant most to me, plus it made it a lot easier to say no to people and circumstances that did not align with my statement.

In order for your mission statement to be powerful it needs to be clear and concise, no more than a few sentences, and as much as possible, direct and to the point of your purpose and existence.  For example:  To live a fun life in accordance with my beliefs and values at any given time, and use my talents to add value to my environment in ways that I choose.  Kurt Schmitt (http://www.inspirational-sayings-in-action.com/sample-mission-statement.html) As you can see it doesn’t take many words to start focusing you towards being the person you were meant to be.

My mission statement is as follows:  Choose love and acceptance over everything.  Be the light for others to follow.  Never let someone else define how I view myself.  Your mission statement can be almost anything you want it to be, it can be more broad, or more concise, but in the end it needs to be powerful enough to guide your steps in all occasions. 

The beautiful thing about a personal statement of definition is that it can be done for any aspect of your life, but I believe that the most powerful statements are those that encompass your life in a nut-shell.  The thing to remember here is that you should be totally honest with yourself and the direction of your life, you need to be one with the statement you make or else it won’t be able to serve a true guide.

Once you have established your statement you can base everything you do and say on it.  If someone asks something of you that doesn’t fit your statement about yourself then you have the ability to say no to them, and feel good about saying no. 

A good mission statement will provide you with all the motivation you need to be successful in whatever pursuits you take on.  There’s one thing you must remember though:  life is in a constant state of change and evolution, so be open to allowing your mission statement to change with you as you grow into a different person with different views as time goes on. 

Let your statement be a light in your life that gives direction and motivation; a good personal statement should never limit what you want to experience in life, it should only be a bridge from who it is you are to who it is you know you desire to be.

Once you make your own statement, memorize it and say it out loud as much as possible; make sure the Universe knows just who it’s now dealing with.  The act of saying something out loud sends energy out into the Universe so that who you really want to be can start becoming a reality.

You might find that the statement you come up with does not vibe with how other people see you, that’s perfectly okay…  How often are we truly honest with other people about who we really are?  You’ll find that if you start living by your mission statement the people around you will never second guess who it is that you are again.