I'm the Same Human, but I'm Not the Same Person

I had a conversation with Moe the other day, a new acquaintance I met through a mutual friend, that stopped me in my tracks. He grew up in the Northern Territories of Iraq, and his perceptions have all been transformed because he’s left that area and lives in the US now, and works here as a dentist.

He said, “You know, I’m the same human that was born in that part of the world but I’m not the same person; I don’t have the same beliefs, because I’ve seen so much that it’s transformed my mind.”

He’s been married before, and is engaged now, which led to us talking about who I was in my first marriage and who I am today. That’s what prompted his statement about being the same human but not the same person. It made me think about the significant events in my life that were transformational, and how, after every one of those significant events, I was no longer the same person.

It’s one of the gifts I’ve received from reading the book 10x is Easier than 2x by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan—they encourage us to go back and record those specific times that really disrupted us from who we were at that moment and reflect on how it propelled us forward in a way that wouldn’t have happened without that catalyst. And here’s something fascinating: research shows that our cells are replaced every 7-10 years, so physically speaking, you’re literally not the same person you were a decade ago.

But the transformation I’m talking about goes deeper than biology.

It’s the evidence of, and the whole point of being born again, of renewing ourselves. When we go into the water in baptism, we’re symbolizing that we’re the same human but a different person, a new creation. I know a lot of people who tell me who they used to be before Christ, and it’s so hard to believe because they’re such a different person now. Some have gone from being untrustworthy to highly trustworthy, shy to bold, consumed by fear to fearless, from having a criminal mind and taking advantage to being extraordinarily generous and giving.

The point of this is to recognize these things about yourself. We all have choices, about who we are and our beliefs, or the way that we want to be remembered, and every day gives us the gift to be more and different than we were yesterday. Every day we have the opportunity to be the person we were meant to be.

We’re in the pursuit of excellence and being perfected in our faith, but we have to recognize that doesn’t fully happen until we transition from this life to the spiritual life we have waiting for us. Ultimately, that’s where the gift of wisdom produced through turmoil or disruption comes from.

I just started my 9th year reading the Bible cover to cover, and when I look back, I can see that my ability to see and understand the Word from nine years ago to today has truly been the renewing of my mind.

Ultimately that’s been the foundation for the way that I express myself, treat others, value others, and even value myself. It’s all been tied to that daily discipline of reading the Bible. When I started this year and looked back, it was the first time I really looked back and realized, “Wow, I’ve done that for eight years!”

I really am the same human, but not the same person, because of that habit that I’ve kept daily, year after year. What events in your life have transformed your mind and changed the person you are today, versus who you were before? Are there people who would meet you today and not recognize the person you’ve become?