Have you ever said that to yourself? It could have been a time when you blurted out something you regretted saying or did something out of character and felt embarrassed. Maybe, other people even said that about you, “That’s not like her.”

More personally, when you look in the mirror, do you ever judge yourself and think, “This is not me. The real me is much slimmer and younger!” This short pronouncement can lead to a sense of something being wrong, a disease of the body driven by the mind causing distraction and anguish.

There are times when “This is not me” is useful. For example, when you have a sense you’re getting sick but the doctor says everything is normal. That feeling of something in the body being “off” doesn’t go away and usually motivates us to get back to what we think we used to be. Exercising, sleeping more, and drinking less are all pursued with hope that we will re-capture how we used to be.

If we know or perceive our bodies to be different than we desire, there is a tendency to try lots of tactics to create or re-capture the body we think we used to have…when it fell in line with “That’s me.”

But, what is “me”?

If I had you draw an outline of your body and look at your hands, would that be you? If I asked you to color in areas that are sore, stiff, fat, etc. would that be you? No. But, if I asked you about belly fat, would you think that was you? It seems there a zillion commercials and testimonies about belly fat these days.

When you think about your real “me”, it’s likely to center on your heart. Everyone has a dream or vision of what they would be like if circumstances would cooperate and a full expression of talents in a body that fits the vision could appear. It is important to examine these whispered longings of dreams. Do you hide them? Have you given up on them? Is that part of the reason the image in the mirror doesn’t feel like you?

Since everything changes and we are subject to aging and all that comes with it, it’s likely some dreams are screaming to be realized and some are the yearnings of days gone by — not really what you want for yourself at this time in life. Isn’t it time to discover what is most important to you now because “now” is always the perfect time?

Let yourself dream…try it on in your imagination until if feels like you. Ask yourself these questions. Does it make you smile? Feel lighter? Motivate change? Do you want to sabotage your current self? Stay the same? Hide from yourself? Do you think this is good for your mental and physical health?

Maybe you’ll become conscious of what your body needs and doesn’t need in order to feel like the “me” you want to be. Maybe you’ll decide not to write the novel of the century you had in mind but instead to focus on writing the most delicious emails to people you care about. We’ve all chased dreams that wound up being an unwise choices. Don’t worry, you won’t do that again. Or maybe you learned and you’re ready to shape your life and create an environment to suit yourself.

Keep dreaming until you dream yourself into a new reality…one you will create and relish. Take action because you are not just a number or phrase. There is more to your “me” than that!