Book excerpt: Finding one's purpose in life and fulfilling it is a desire we all share. Yet many of us are living the lives and dreams imposed upon us by our family, friends and society. Once we understand the fears, frustrations and loyalties that sabotage our dreams and best efforts at personal growth, we can free ourselves from doubt and defeat and find out what we really want to do with our lives. Who You Were Meant to Be explains how to use our inner guidance to find our most personal and energizing life purpose. Writing in a friendly, active style, psychologist Lindsay Gibson shows us how to get free of the misguided guilt and loyalty that confuse loving others with sacrificing oneself. We can undo self-defeating ideas and claim our right to happiness and autonomy in our life choices. Thanks to the author's clinical background, this book goes deep enough to address feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and the common fears that can bring self-actualization to a standstill. Dr. Gibson offers a unique blend of inspiration and pragmatic advice to people who have been reluctant to put themselves first in their own lives. Who You Were Meant to Be provides a practical road map out of old habits and shows how to forge a new path on which each of us can discover or recover our true purposes in life and become the people we want to be.