Succeeding at being Yourself.

Romans 16:6 says We all have different gifts according to the grace given to us. Most people spend a lot of time trying to be what people want, or what people think we should be. Doing things to please people, yet you're unhappy when you do it. Deep down you need to say No, but your mouth still says Yes. You feel like you don't want to disappoint that person, or that if you don't do what they want they'll reject you. Insecure people say "Yes" when they really mean "No". People who succeed at being themselves do not allow other people to control them. Now, we can't be angry at people for putting demands on us. We are responsible to order our lives. We need to know our Identity, our Direction, and our Calling (God's will for our lives). We need to make decisions that will keep us pressing toward our goal. What people think is not our problem. It is our responsibility to be what God has created us to be. And of course there are times in life that we do things that we'd rather not do. We do things for others because we love them, and we should do that. But in doing that we are still being led by God's spirit to walk in love. This is entirely different than being controlled and manipulated by other peoples demands and expectations.
This is a little bit of what I'm learning from Joyce Meyer's book "Succeeding at being yourself." There will be more to come! The more I learn the more I'll share!