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13: I Don't Want To Be The "Anxiety Girl"
160 Plays3 years ago
What does cutting a label off a dress have to do with knowing who we really are as a person? EVERYTHING! In this episode Laura shares the shocking thing that someone said to her that shifted how she thinks about her identity. This powerful truth is something everyone needs to hear deep down in their soul.
To learn more about the products Laura mentions in this episode, visit podcast sponsor, Cindy Jenks, an ambassador with QSciences at myqwellness.com or email her questions at [email protected].
Seeking The Still Website: Seekingthestill.com
Seeking The Still Instagram: Instagram.com/seekingthestill
Seeking The Still Facebook: Facebook.com/seekthestill
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Seeking the Still' Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Seeking the Still is produced by Joe Devine Media. Welcome to the Seeking the Still podcast with me, your host, Laura Fleetwood.
00:00:14
Speaker
In this safe space, we come together to seek the still amid chaotic lives, to get honest about what overwhelms us, to become connected to one another and to the divine, to step into who we were created to be. Always real, never perfect, and forever on your side.
Discussing Identity and Taking a Break from Interviews
00:00:39
Speaker
Welcome to episode 13 of Seeking the Still. In season two, I have been interviewing people in my life to hear their perspectives about what it was like to walk with me through a season of struggle.
00:00:55
Speaker
But today I'm going to take a break from the interviews to talk about something that is just weighing heavily on my mind and I know is being pressed upon me to share with you and that is identity. But before I get into that and why it's so important and how a shift in how you think about your identity can change everything,
Sponsor Acknowledgement and Benefits of Q Sciences
00:01:19
Speaker
I would like to say a word of thanks to our season sponsor, Cindy Jenks, an ambassador with Q Sciences. I've been sharing how these natural products have been just tremendously helping my journey of
00:01:39
Speaker
seeing myself as a whole being of body, mind, and spirit and of intentionally supporting all aspects of my being. These supplements have been huge in just helping me calm my body and give my body the nourishment that it needs.
00:01:59
Speaker
Today I want to tell you about the Q-Core products that I've been using from Q Sciences.
Personal Benefits of Q-Core Supplements
00:02:07
Speaker
They are supplements that address the needs of your body when it comes to nutrients and probiotics and also addressing chronic inflammation in the body.
00:02:21
Speaker
They come in packets that are easy to open every morning and every night and have completely eliminated the brain fog. That was kind of a chronic issue that I dealt with. And Cindy would love to give you a sample of these products and let you see for yourself the difference that they can make in your life. All you have to do is email her.
00:02:47
Speaker
Cindy Jenks at myqwellness.com, or you can learn more at myqwellness.com on the web. Cindy is someone I trust. She has a degree in psychology. She's a former nurse, and she struggles with anxiety. So she gets the whole picture, and I can contact her anytime with questions, and you can as well.
00:03:14
Speaker
So please check out myqwellness.com or email Cindy to get your free samples and let's get a handle on our health together.
The Story of Cutting Labels and Questioning Identity
00:03:32
Speaker
A few years ago, I purchased a dress from Target from the clearance section and I loved it, but there was one problem with this dress. It fit me great. It looked great, but it was a maternity dress. It didn't look like a maternity dress.
00:03:49
Speaker
but it was labeled as maternity. And so every time I went to take it off the hanger and wear it, it really bothered me that I wasn't pregnant, but I was putting on a maternity dress. And then one day I thought about it and I realized that the only thing saying that this was a maternity dress was the label.
00:04:15
Speaker
The dress itself wasn't any different from another dress in my closet. The color was gorgeous. The cut was beautiful. It was just labeled maternity. So I did something.
00:04:30
Speaker
I put it out on social media that I was going to cut the label off this maternity dress at a certain day in a certain time and I would do a live video when I did it. It was so shocking to me that to date that is one of the most viewed videos on my social media.
00:04:54
Speaker
people actually tuned in to watch me hold a pair of scissors and cut that dang maternity label off the dress. I find that such a reflection of the fact that we are so bothered and weighed down by the labels that this world gives us.
Exploring Labels vs. True Identity
00:05:22
Speaker
A label is not your identity. It is just information. When I cut that tag off of the maternity dress, the thing that gave information about it, that it was meant for pregnant women,
00:05:40
Speaker
was gone. That had just been information. The essence of the dress remained the same. So there is a huge difference between information, a label, and identity.
00:05:56
Speaker
And this came to mind this past weekend when I was at a conference and I remembered something that someone had recently told me. I was meeting with her for the first time. We didn't really know each other. We had mutual friends.
Impact of Being Labeled 'The Anxiety Lady'
00:06:10
Speaker
And she said, you know, Laura, I didn't really know anything about you except that you were the anxiety lady.
00:06:19
Speaker
And she looked at me point blank in the face and she said, and I think that's really sad to be known as the anxiety lady. And it made me really sad because just like that dress, the label of somebody who deals with anxiety or the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder is not my identity. That is not who I am.
00:06:46
Speaker
I am so much more than that. That's a little bit of information about something that I deal with. But if I were to take that on and make it a permanent part of my identity, it would be easy to do that, but it would be very, very sad.
00:07:07
Speaker
I was thinking about all of the different labels that we put on ourselves. Mom, wife, worker, maybe you're a widow and you're not a wife anymore. You know, that, that label about you has nothing to do with your identity.
00:07:36
Speaker
So how can we experience the freedom of letting go of those labels and focus on who we really are, our true identity?
Reflecting on Labels vs. True Identity
00:07:50
Speaker
Here's something that I think might be helpful for you this week. Sit down and play some
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beautiful music that you love. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea. Have a piece of paper and a pen in front of you and ask God to show you all of the labels that you have in your life. Maybe it's a diagnosis. Maybe it's addict. Maybe it's
00:08:25
Speaker
a negative word that somebody said to you or something harsh that someone said over you and you have taken that on as part of your identity. Write them all out. Don't think about it. Just write. Write, write, write, write, write. Take a picture of that list and email it to me.
00:08:54
Speaker
I won't share it with anyone. You don't have to email it to me. You could email it to somebody else that you trust. But if you do want to send it to me, Laura at seekingthestill.com. And then along with that, I want you to ask God to show you who you really are.
00:09:20
Speaker
Ask him to show you because he created you. He designed you. You are his. Your identity is the essence of you that cannot be taken away regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself. It can't be lost through the death of a loved one.
00:09:48
Speaker
It can't be gained by achievement or success. So it can't be a degree or a job. You see, your identity cannot be gained or lost. And that's a key question to ask yourself as you think about this. Can I lose this? Can I gain this? If the answer is yes, it is not your identity.
Unchanging Nature of True Identity
00:10:16
Speaker
Part of your identity, whether you know it or not, is that you are a daughter of God. You are his child. And that isn't anything that you can ask for and receive. And it's not something that you can do something horrible or experience something horrible and that it would be taken away. Part of your identity is that you are beloved.
00:10:48
Speaker
Part of your identity is that you are rescued. Part of your identity is that you are free, regardless of the circumstances that come and go. And Messy Miracle, I just want to encourage you today to take that list of all the labels
00:11:13
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Put a big X through it and write information over it. That is just information about your life. Then flip over the page and write who you really are, your true identity. Identity cannot be taken and it cannot be given
00:11:42
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And it is what sustains us through the ups and the downs of this life, which we will all surely experience.
Choosing Not to Be Defined by Anxiety
00:11:55
Speaker
You know, I used to on my bios.
00:12:00
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have something about diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder or something about anxiety being part of who I am.
00:12:15
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And I have since changed that because I do not want to be known as the anxiety girl. That is not who I am. And I am honestly believing that God has me on a journey where that will no longer be part of my day to day. Sure, it will always be part of my story.
00:12:38
Speaker
I'll always be part of my history and what has brought me and led me and propelled me to where I am in the current day.
00:12:49
Speaker
But it's not who I am. And any time I start to believe that again, when I experience a flare or some symptoms pop up, I am tempted to think, oh, here we go. Anxiety girl. It's never going to go away. You're always going to deal with this.
00:13:10
Speaker
But it's not true. It's not true. That's just information about a day or a week or a season that I might be going through and that's true about you as well. Whatever struggle you tend to label yourself, that is not who you are.
Emphasizing Inviolable Identity and Rejecting Labels
00:13:30
Speaker
As I leave you this morning, I just have some, some final thoughts that I want to speak into your life and speak over you that you can take with you. Think of it as a pep talk for your day. You are who you are. You were designed to be that way.
00:13:53
Speaker
There is nothing in this world that can take away the essence of you, your soul. Your soul is the spirit that God has given you. It is deeper and more real than any emotions that you may be feeling. It is truer than any situation in your life.
00:14:16
Speaker
It is more profound than what you look like on the outside. It is more expansive than your thoughts. Your identity is precious. Your identity is true and you never have to fear it leaving you this
00:14:43
Speaker
this gem, this diamond, this light that lives inside you that was put there by your creator. That is continually renewed by the spirit that is rescued by Jesus. Your identity is secure. Rest in that today. Rest in that for your week. Cut off the labels in your life.
00:15:13
Speaker
Be intentional about not putting labels on others who you love. Help them to see their true identity, because that is where the freedom happens. When we see who we are, then we start to see others as who they are, and it's not what they look like. It's not what they do. It's not what they experience. It's not the diagnosis or the situation that they encounter.
00:15:41
Speaker
True identity cannot, cannot be messed with. It cannot be destroyed. It is. It is. It is a gift that God has given you. Rest in that. Embrace that today. You are a daughter of God. No matter where you find yourself,
00:16:11
Speaker
No matter how you feel, be still.