This just in: You only have to be you

Insights on why it's important to be you from Patty Bechtold, Counselor and life coach at wiselifetherapy.com in Santa Rosa CA

This post is a followup to the one I wrote two weeks ago. The one where I said you don’t have to worry about becoming who you’re meant to be.

So here’s the thing I want to add: You only have to be you.

Like Martha Graham says in the quote below: there is only one of you in all of time. And the world really does need you to be you right now. More than ever.

Discovering that you can actually be you, without worrying about becoming something different or better, is truly empowering.

In fact, one of the highlights of my job as a therapist and life coach is the moment a client says something like: “Oh, wait. I was there all along! I just lost track of myself.”

And when that happens, you begin to get reacquainted with the you beneath all the doing and becoming.

  • You begin to loosen up a little instead of holding yourself so tightly.
  • You experiment with taking off your masks, and taking risks.
  • You find you don’t care so much what anyone else thinks.
  • You reclaim the parts of you that are quirky, delightful, funny, silly.
  • You discover that you’re original, rare, uncommon and quite wonderful!

And all this happens because you finally see that who you are is always there.

It always was there. And when you delve into your nooks and crannies you begin to unearth that essential you.

You learn that your becoming has always been there.

Beckoning. Calling to you…

Come back to me. Come be with me. Come peel away the layers and reclaim me. I’m waiting to be unravelled like a big beautiful ball of yarn.

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it.

-Martha Graham

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It is my great joy to offer counseling, therapy and life coaching to women, as well as women’s groups and retreats. You can work with me in my Santa Rosa office, as well as by telephone/secure video if you’re outside the area. To schedule a free consultation, click here or call 707-742-9844.