The Person You Were Yesterday Isn’t Who You Are Today

First published 17 May 2026

I’ve been thinking a lot about masks lately.  And not the kind we wore during the pandemic, but the ones we put on every single day without even noticing.

You know the ones I mean – the ‘occupational mask’ you wear at work, the ‘family’ mask you slip on at gatherings or with family members, the version of yourself you present because that’s what people expect.  We spend so much time fitting ourselves into other people’s perceptions that we forget we have a choice to take those masks off.

In our latest ‘Therapists in Conversation’ episode, we explored something that sits at the heart of my Health Kinesiology work: identity and belonging.  I find people often come to me feeling stuck, and that stuckness almost always comes from a deep-seated fear of being truly seen.

Here’s what people don’t always notice: you wake up every day slightly different to who you were the day before.

Every 24 hours brings new information, new conversations, new experiences.

Your beliefs shift and change naturally.

The problem arises when we ignore that internal shift because we feel the weight of external expectation.  We squeeze ourselves into someone else’s perception of who we should be, and that jarring feeling?  That’s cognitive dissonance – your soul trying to tell you the shirt doesn’t fit anymore.

We’re a society obsessed with labels.

Your name, your job title, your position in your family – they are all labels.

But none of those things are who you are in your essence.  In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we understand that energy flows through meridians, and when we’re not aligned with our true nature, those pathways become blocked.  The body knows when you’re performing a version of yourself that isn’t authentic.

I recently reconnected with a friend I hadn’t seen in twenty-five years (and I think I told you all about it when it happened!).  The conversation was stilted at first because we were both trying to squeeze back into outdated boxes, performing old versions of ourselves to find common ground. 

But why?  I’m not the same person I was 25 years ago, and thank goodness for that.

The only person you need to be better than is you yesterday.

That’s it.

What anyone else thinks or feels about you?  That is none of your business!!  You can’t control their thoughts, but you can control your response.

Between your birth date and the date on a gravestone, there’s a dash.  That dash represents all your choices and all your decisions.  Don’t spend it trying to fit into someone else’s shoes.

Ready to take off the mask and come home to yourself?

Let’s explore what happens when you stop performing and start being.

Book Your Discovery Call now.

Angela

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Want to hear the full conversation? Catch Episode 72 of ‘Therapists in Conversation’ now