Well, well, well, welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back. You're doing great. You know that you're doing fantastic. It is Trust Yourself Thursday. It is Trust Yourself Thursday here on the Sweet Spot. And I'm your host. I'm Dr. Derek Sweet. As you know, I'm a board-certified psychiatrist. I specialize in peak performance work. But more than that, I'm journeying right beside you. Discovering the new versions of ourselves that want to emerge. We're in the game. We're in the game. We're in this game called Life. And what a beautiful pleasure it is to be in life, even with all the imperfections, even with all the challenges. This is life. And on the sweet spot, we've been dealing with the releases. Seven releases. This has been a seven release series that we've been looking at releasing the things that encumber us, releasing things that hold us back. Yesterday we released the weight that wasn't ours. The emotional load. The friend pressure, family pressure, the unspoken responsibilities, the things that really don't belong to us but have shaped us anyway. And today. Today we're taking a step that is both tender and transformational. We're going to release the old identity. That version of you that helped you survive, but isn't useful anymore. Here's the truth. Most people never say out loud. You've lived so many lives inside the same body. You've been the achiever. You've been the fixer. You've been the strong one. You've been the quiet one. You've been the one who didn't want to disappoint anybody. The one who held everything together. The one who made themselves so small that others could shine. The one who pretended not to hurt. Because everyone needed you stable. More than that, the one who often set herself or himself on fire so that everybody else could be warm. These versions of you weren't mistakes. They were survival strategies. They were useful in the sense that they carried you through storms that you never asked to be in. You had to develop a way to make it. They protected you, these versions of yourself, these old identities. They were protective. They helped you navigate pain. They helped you stay connected. They helped you feel safe. And sometimes they bring a lot of accolades because people constantly tell you how amazing you are, even though you're hurting inside. But here's the spiritual and psychological shift I want you to take in today on Trust Yourself Thursday. What protected you in the past may just maybe is what's limiting you now. And deep, deep in your spirit, you know when a version of you has expired, and it's time to be the new you. It's time to step in to what's yours. Because it starts to feel too tight, too heavy, too forced, too exhausting, too disconnected. You begin to feel like this is just too small for me. This is not for me. I feel misaligned. I don't feel comfortable anymore in this. You can feel the friction when it's time to move on, when it's time to change. You can feel the stretching. So who are you now that no longer fits into what you used to be? And why are you still holding on to yesterday? You see, your identity is built through neural pathways, patterns of thought and behavior, emotions, um, expectations that your brain learned to repeat. That's how you form an identity. And this is the neuroscience part. You know I love the neuroscience. We know we were going here. We had to go here. I always go here. How do you form an identity? How did you become you? That even that old version of you. Identity is built through all these neurological connections, these neurons connecting to each other, and they become these patterns, and it's the way you think, the way you behave, the way you feel, the expectations that you've learned to um integrate and repeat. Identity is basically who I needed to be to stay safe, to stay connected, and to be accepted. That's identity. But here's another beautiful part. The brain isn't uh stiff, it's it's um willing to evolve. Neuroplasticity, you heard the term, we've used it here before. Neuroplasticity is a big word, but it doesn't mean anything other than you can create new beliefs with this brain of yours. You can build new habits and form uh new emotional instincts, rewrite your old story and disrupt the old one. Choose a whole new way of being. Just like you go to the closet and decide, I'm gonna wear this today. That's neuroplasticity. Your brain isn't loyal to the past. You know what your brain's loyal to? Your brain is loyal to whatever you practice, whatever you repeat. That's what it's looking at. So you're not stuck in the past, you're practicing something that your brain has gotten used to. Yeah. Yeah. And it's up to you and me to take on the new us, to change the clothing, right? To decide we're gonna wear a different color today. And the ancient wisdom never fails. Remember, here on the sweet spot, we're about science, soul, and success. Here's the soul part. The ancient wisdom in the message Bible tells us take on an entirely new way of life. This is in Ephesians 4, verse 22 to 24. Take on an entirely new way of life, a God-fashioned life. Wow, that's pretty cool, right? And it's so straightforward. Now, for my friends, I've been getting a little pushback now from some of my classic biblical scholars because they're like, dude, this whole message Bible thing is like a little watered down, you know, the King James, the KGV. Listen, I'm not a Bible scholar. There are plenty of Bible scholars in my family, and I can uh direct you to them. Of course, I'll have to ask their permission, but yeah, take on an entirely new way of life, a God-fashioned life in Ephesians 4.22 is the same as the King James' version. Put off the old man and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man. You know, that's the King James version. Whatever works for you. Both translations are saying the same thing. Transformation is not betrayal of who you are, it's honoring who you're becoming. I'll say that again. Transformation is not betraying who you are, it's honoring who you're becoming. Let that land. So here are your tools for today releasing the old identity so you can trust yourself more. This is trust yourself Thursday. And the first tool is name the version that you're outgrowing. Name the version of you that you're gonna outgrow, that you're gonna let go. I you can say this simply. You can just literally say it with me. I am outgrowing the me who stayed silent. When I should have spoken up. I am outgrowing the me who had to be perfect to win everybody's approval. I'm outgrowing the me who carried every burden because I felt like that was my job and that that's the only way I would have a worth. I'm outgrowing the me who minimized my needs. You get it? You sit with yourself today and decide what you are you are gonna outgrow. I just named a few. Naming the version makes space for the new one. And the second tool I want you to try is ask the future you a question. Future you is watching. So future you is watching you and me right now. Future you is looking at us, and I want you to ask future you a question. Who is the person I'm becoming? And what does that person no longer do? Your future self is wiser than you think. Let future you tell you what you need to stop doing now. I want you to sit with that one and think about it. Alright, you need to sit, relax, take a breath. Nice deep breath in through the nose. That's it. Take a nice deep breath with me. Come on now. And then let out the exhale as slowly as you can. When you exhale slower than you inhale, you relax your entire nervous system, my friend. Parasympathetic privileging. Alright? Ask future you, who is the person I'm becoming, and what does that person no longer need to do? Your future self is wiser, wiser than you know, wiser than you think. They'll tell you what needs to be released, they'll tell you what no longer fits, and they'll tell you what identity is trying to emerge. Listen to future you in your meditation and prayer time. Now, I want you to take 10 seconds and say this out loud as we close here today on Trust Yourself Thursday. I honor who have been, and I release who I no longer am. That's your affirmation. I honor who I've been. No judgment. And I'm releasing who I no longer am. Amen. Identity shifts happen softly, they can happen quietly over time. They don't have to be these big loud announcements. And this phrase, I honor who I've been, and I release who I no longer am begins your shift. I'm Dr. Derek Sweet. You've been listening to The Sweet Spot. Thank you so much for going on this journey of release with me. The seven releases all week long. Tomorrow, tomorrow on goodness, finish Strong Friday. We're gonna deal with another release. Release the fear. Release the fear of starting over. We're stepping into courage. Release the fear of starting over because beginning again isn't punishment, it's promotion. So if today resonated, my friend, share this with someone who feels themselves outgrowing an older chapter but hasn't given themselves the permission to really step into the new one. You know, sometimes when it's time to step into a new chapter, we kind of look back like Lot's wife a little, trying to look at the old days, and that didn't work out for her. So trust me, let's move forward. I'll see you tomorrow, beautiful souls. One breath at a time, one release at a time. Stay amazing!