You are an Overcomer

We're all put into special groups to classify and put us into specific places; sometimes we do this to ourselves, other times society decides where we belong and we listen. Many times, these classifications ultimately divide us and we believe the lies that they tag us with.

A teenage girl believes she isn't skinny or pretty enough to be a model; a young boy who dreams of having the opportunity to play basketball is rejected and believes he isn't good enough to try out for the team the next year; a fresh college graduate receives no calls back from his extensive interviews and begins to question his purpose. Divisions between, "us and them," the privileged and underprivileged, the rich and poor, the skilled and unskilled, the blacks and whites - the list can go on and on. These false divisions hinder equality and limit self-betterment. In extreme circumstances, such false divisions lead to inhumanity and global atrocities such as the Jewish Holocaust or the Rwandan Genocide. It is our responsibility to overcome these partitions each and every day.

Jay Smooth, speaker and radio personality, explained the concept of the dental hygiene paradigm in a ted talk (which may be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbdxeFcQtaU). The dental hygiene paradigm states that change of thinking and intent doesn't happen in one single sitting; instead, we must keep up daily with brushing our teeth, showering, and more. 

Change - lasting, meaningful change - is the same way. It must be a conscious choice every day. In overcoming the false divisions we may be placed in, we should pursue erasing them every day through conscious action. It may be such simple an act as standing before a mirror and stating, "I'm better than this" - because you are. You are better than what anybody can label you to be. You are an overcomer.