By Leo Babauta

I’m a personal growth junkie in a lot of ways — I’m always finding new things to learn, new ways to grow, fun challenges to take on. I love it, and I bet many of you reading this can relate.

But when we’re so focused on who we want to become … we miss out on who we are right now. I’d love to talk to you for a bit about why this is so important.

First, I strongly believe we’re often so focused on who we want to become — stronger, more experienced, more skilled, more knowledgeable, more disciplined, more loving — because we are trying to get away from who we are right now. We might have an idea of who we should be, and we’re always falling short of that ideal. So we try to get away from who we are.

But I believe that it’s a powerful act to honor and love who we already are, right now, rather than wishing we could be something different. It’s transformative.

Second, when we see the gifts of who we are now, and acknowledge their beauty, it encourages those gifts to come out naturally. For example, if I see my natural curiosity and creativity, and I acknowledge them … they’re more likely to want to come out more often. I’ll shut them down less.

If you’d like there to be more discipline in your life, can you acknowledge where you’re already showing up with courage in the face of your resistance?

If you’d like to be stronger, can you acknowledge where you’re already proving your resilience?

If you’d like to be more skilled or knowledgeable, could you acknowledge where you’ve already learned a lot, and acknowledge your deep curiosity and desire to learn?

By acknowledging who we already are, right now, it points to the gifts already present, rather than the shortcomings we think we have.

And finally … if we can just experience ourselves in this moment … it’s already a beautiful thing. There isn’t a lack in who we are right now. We’re already complete, already wondrous. We just need to turn our natural sense of wonder and awe to the experience of ourselves in each moment.