{"id":3225,"date":"2026-09-03T16:21:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T21:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/?p=3225"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:46:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T21:46:50","slug":"this-lady-is-who-she-thinks-she-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/03\/this-lady-is-who-she-thinks-she-is\/","title":{"rendered":"This Lady Is Who She Thinks She Is"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Last week, as I was leaving a restorative care facility after visiting a friend, I encountered a group of employees in the lobby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you a teacher?\u201d one asked. \u201cYou have the presence of a teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I answered \u201cno,\u201d and then told her I am a writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor real? What have you written? Do you write books?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recounted a little of my writing journey, including the fact that I often write about tough topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several asked my name, pulled out their phones, and quickly discovered my website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, law! Look at that professional headshot! This lady is who she thinks she is!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We talked a few minutes. I showed them how to access my blog, thanked them for their interest, and then bid them farewell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After I got in the car, that phrase\u2014\u201cThis lady is who she thinks she is\u201d\u2014replayed in my mind and caused me to think about how we perceive ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accuracy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Is the view you hold of yourself accurate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I look in the mirror, I am usually okay with what I see. However, to get a more accurate perspective, a full-length mirror is required. When I see only a portion of my reflection, I get a partial view. A full-length mirror gives the total picture\u2014and sometimes that view isn\u2019t quite what I consider acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same can be true of how we see ourselves on the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people have an elevated perception of themselves. Perhaps they feel inferior for some reason and compensate with an inflated view of self to gain confidence. Unfortunately, self-elevation can come at the expense of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An attitude of superiority is unattractive and can be damaging to those in its path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honesty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My maternal grandmother often cautioned, \u201cNow don\u2019t you get the big head,\u201d meaning, don\u2019t think too highly of yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An honest assessment of ourselves helps us move forward and build genuine relationships. People gravitate toward those who are honest, compassionate, and forgiving. Conversely, relationships become difficult when one person constantly requires affirmation or attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But thinking too highly of ourselves isn\u2019t the only danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misperception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, we think far too little of ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you see yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can view our shortcomings with glaring clarity while barely noticing our strengths, gifts, and positive qualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misperception may stem from overly critical parents, grandparents, or other family members. I still remember extended family members commenting openly and loudly on my preteen weight and what those remarks did to my self-esteem. The damage lasted well into adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving beyond labels others place on us is challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we accept the negative\u2014and sometimes cruel\u2014statements of others as truth, we saddle ourselves with the unnecessary burden of trying to meet someone else\u2019s standards or live within someone else\u2019s definition of who we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The world is full of critics, or what I refer to as \u201cnegative cheerleaders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forward motion comes when we learn to see ourselves from God\u2019s perspective\u2014as beloved and valued children of the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are God\u2019s masterpiece, created in His image. No matter what falsehoods others have drilled into your mind, you are God\u2019s creation. By faith in Jesus Christ, through God\u2019s grace, you are adopted into God\u2019s family and gain a new identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this new identity comes the certainty that you are who God knows\u2014and says\u2014you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps one of the gifts of this best-life phase is finally learning to see ourselves more accurately: neither inflated by our own importance nor diminished by the opinions and labels of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe we can even become comfortable enough in our own skin to smile and say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This lady is who she thinks she is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor we are God\u2019s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.\u201d
\u2014Ephesians 2:10 NLT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause of the grace allotted to me, I can respectfully tell you not to think of yourselves as being more important than you are; devote your minds to sound judgment since God has assigned to each of us a measure of faith.\u201d
\u2014Romans 12:3 VOICE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

New to The Best-Life Project?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Please read these foundational posts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Life Dream Story<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best-Life Definition<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More from This Author:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Candy Arrington<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"
Candy Arrington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Candy Arrington is an award-winning writer, blogger, and speaker. She often writes on tough topics with a focus on moving through, and beyond, difficult life circumstances. Candy has written hundreds of articles, stories, and devotions published by numerous outlets including: Inspiration.org, Arisedaily.com, CBN.com, Healthgrades.com, Care.com, Focus on the Family, NextAvenue.org, CountryLiving.com, and Writer\u2019s Digest. Candy\u2019s books include Life on Pause: Learning to Wait Well (Bold Vision Books), When Your Aging Parent Needs Care (Harvest House), and AFTERSHOCK: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide (B&H Publishing Group).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To receive Candy\u2019s blog, Forward Motion, via email, go to https:\/\/candyarrington.com\/blog\/ and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There comes a point in life when we begin to understand that some of the labels we\u2019ve carried were never ours to begin with. Candy Arrington invites us to consider who we believe we are\u2014and whose voice gets the final say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,15],"tags":[376],"class_list":["post-3225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-wellness","category-soul","tag-self-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3225"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3232,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225\/revisions\/3232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}