In my ongoing saga of Lady Gaga insights and inspirations, I’d like to discuss a theme at her Monster’s Ball that really stopped me in my tracks and got me thinking.  She kept saying things about not letting other people tell you who to be, and “choose who you want to be.” At first these don’t seem like very new or original messages. I spent much of last year promoting my book, Inspiration Deficit Disorder, which was all about finding, feeding, and choosing to be your truest self.

But my guru Gaga somehow spoke the same message in a way that translates into a radically different and important message that even I missed clarifying in recent years. In essence, my summary of what I heard in her message is choose yourself, which is different than be yourself. Be yourself implies that authenticity is best and that it is actually possible and better to know who you “really are” sooner than later.

Choose yourself, my new mantra, means that if we really want to be spiritual about all things, than we have to remove judgment even from the embrace of true self. Instead we offer empowerment, education and choice – then it’s up to you. Choose yourself means you can be anything, anyone, anyway, but you have to accept the consequences. If you want health and happiness, then of course I’d advise you to choose your most authentic self for a million reasons that I and a million others have written about. BUT, in the end it is still your choice. Maybe you don’t feel up to the journey of self-discovery, maybe you need to explore your shadow, or may you have some mistakes you need to make and learn from! There a so many paths a person takes in a life in order to learn, to love, to grow, to explore. They might not all be “authentic” in some abstract ultimate sense, but they are all choices and that’s what matters.

CHOOSE YOURSELF is about knowing your identity is not fixed and that we choose our stories, actions, assumptions and how we treat others and let them treat us every day. The wisdom of choose yourself lies not in the promise of a perfect life, or advice on what to choose, but instead it is about freedom, permission and awareness that identity and self-concept is a choice. It’s a powerful idea because it shapes your health, your mental state, your relationships, and your experience of the world. You can wake up and say “I am a healer” or “I am a renegade” or “I am an artist” or “I am a financial wizard” or “I am a gleaming spark of God” – it’s a choice. But as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Once you have made your choice, can you live it fully? Can you be consistent? Will you be accountable? And in the end, if you need to, will you learn and grow and change and then choose yourself again? My tip for today, every day you wake up, take a few deep breaths, and choose yourself.