I used to think I disliked cooking. So I didn’t do it. I started dating someone who ...

... enjoyed cooking for me and I never had to think about it. Then we broke up.

I started to realize that the stories I had about who I was weren’t facts of life, they were decisions I’d made consciously or unconsciously at some stage in time. The story that I didn’t cook, for example, was simply the role I’d taken on and then proceeded to define myself by. It had taken deep roots within me, sure, but it need not be permanent if I was ready to change it.

So I began to cook. I began to ask questions to people who knew more than me. I began to practice and try new ideas. I cooked for the woman I had started to date, instead of the other way around. And I began to take pride in what I was doing in the kitchen.

So am I a professional chef? Absolutely not. But can I cook? 100%. The old story is no longer mine, and I’ve changed the perception I have on myself and, as a result, on life in general. And yes, it may just be about something simple like cooking, but it’s further evidence that I can change anything about myself that I choose.

We get to design who we want to be. This isn’t always easy, by the way, because sometimes when you declare your identity it means holding boundaries that are difficult. It might mean saying no to things that you really want, but you know aren’t in alignment with the values you hold. But every time you deepen who you are, the Universe aligns more deeply with that version of you.

So choose YOU carefully. Be intentional with your actions as they communicate to the Universe how you want it to treat you. And enjoy the process of transmutation that is a gift of life itself. Celebrate it.

Dance.
Sing.
Party.
Maybe bake a cake.

If only I knew how to bake.