Who am I - My Identity

Who am I? That is the question that philosophers have asked for thousands of years.

Why is answering this question important or even necessary? With the identity in which we call ourselves or how we want to be known it will determine our beliefs, actions, and hence our results.

In schools for instance, some of us get labeled as 'gifted' or 'challenged'. With that label and also due to how others response or treat us it will shape our experiences, environment, and hence our mindset. As a result of that label, it reinforce what others think of us and also how we see ourselves.

It can be a blessed or damned situation depending on which label has been given to you.

So as you can see it can have a virtuous or vicious cycle, spiraling upwards or downwards for most people.

As a result, it is critical for us to clearly define what our identity is. So how do we go about defining our identity? Well, first it may be helpful to ask ourselves what kind of label we currently give ourselves? Do we see ourselves as a leader or a follower? Or do we call ourselves a happy-go-lucky person or a planner? You see, your current label will determine what kind of actions, and hence the results, that you are currently getting.

Hence if you don't like the results you are getting now, change your behaviours or actions. Like what Einstein said, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the results to be different is a clear sign of insanity. True? Well, not quite.

In fact Einstein also said that to solve the challenges that we are currently facing, we cannot use the same level of thinking that created this challenge. To put that into the context in which we are currently talking about, we'll need to change more than our actions or behaviours. We will need to examine deeper; we will need to examine our identity.

By examining our current identity, we are raising the awareness of how we currently see ourselves. How, when we move into a third perceptual position, do we see ourselves? How are we like when faced with certain circumstances, how do we response? By doing so, we are creating awareness. Without awareness is like, not even knowing what you do not know. If we have never given a speech in front of hundreds of people, we do not even know if we can do it or not in the first place.

To embark on such an endeavor will require support. Will require others to help us. So while I begin the next 7 days to examining our identity, I invite you to check in on me over the next 7 days to see what are some of the incidences that I've experienced.

See you tomorrow!