By Samantha McKenzie

What if I told you that you’ve been harboring an impostor? That living right inside of you is a make-believe person, a pretender, a look-a-like that you’ve created to help you exist.

That after years of mistakes, disappointments and put downs, you unknowingly constructed an alternate self. She was created with good reason though, born out of your pain and evolved to help protect you from harm. This masked you is well intentioned, but she’s not the real you.

Let’s face it, we all may be slightly guilty of this. You remember how you used to share everything you had, until someone took advantage of your kindness. Remember when you used to give love your all, until that special someone walked away without cause. Remember those early years in college when you believed you could change the world. Remember trusting, sharing and loving unconditionally. Remember that you?

Life has an unpredictable way of shaping us, sometimes warping us into a person we didn’t expect to become. We end up spending a great deal of our time living out a false persona and slowly slip into being someone else. Do you wonder why you’re so hard, a little rough around the edges nowadays? Or why you act increasingly tough, so tough that you don’t even smile anymore. Do you remember when life was sweeter?

Ever go back to the old neighborhood and run into a person you grew up with that you no longer recognize. What happened to her? Her guard is all the way up. Her innocence all but gone. Only traces of joy left behind. Little traces…

Don’t spend another moment with this impostor. Instead, start re-investing in the real you.

If you’re a naturally caring person, then be caring. If you’re a giver, then give. Seek out the best causes and the best people you can find, and pour out your blessings. If you’re a believer in the goodness of people, then continue on. Believe when no one else is looking. Believe when no one else believes.

Life is too short to be anyone who is not authentically you.