My Story: Who Are You?

Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating who you want to be.

Often at the start of a workshop I am asked to say something about myself.  A million things come to mind; lover of salt sea chocolate, enjoys tramping in the outdoors, has a very limited crossword vocab.  None of these is really helpful to getting to know the real me.  On a deeper level I'm a thinker with a passion for personal growth and I enjoy learning about myself (but there's never time to say all that.)

Identity is a socially constructed concept, which means it is defined by how others understand or agree on something.  Perhaps we are easily defined by our unique characteristics e.g. age, gender, ethnicity; however, these attributes often seem too restrictive.  

Self identity is not always a conscious process. It is more likely to be derived from our roles and behaviours e.g. our occupation, relationships, interests, abilities, characteristics, spirituality, and how other people interact with us in these attributions.    If we desire a strong sense of self it is important that we understand our desired attributes and consciously decide for ourselves who we want to be.

Relationships:  The roles we assume in our family, friendships and groups help to define our identity.  We may be chosen by others to assume roles in their lives; however, whether or not we want to live out this role needs to be defined by our personal boundaries and choices.

Strengths and Abilities:  There are many ways to choose a career path.  The most satisfying way is to understand what you love to do in daily life and create a income from it.  This begins by digging deeper into your strengths and abilities.

Characteristics:  Often children are openly told who they are.  Positive or negative statements spoken over young people can have a dramatic effect on how they see themselves.  If you are told you are clever as a young person, it is mostly likely you will grow up believing you are intelligent.  This is because we gather the information about ourselves from those around us and interpret it as our self identity.  To create a positive sense of self it is important to consciously choose our beliefs, thoughts and characteristics for ourselves.  This is an important part of personal growth and development.

Spirituality:  What we believe is often influenced by our family background.  However, there are many ways to determine our spirituality.  Spirituality powerfully provides meaning in our lives.  It helps us to focus on something greater than ourselves; freeing us from our individualism.  Spirituality gives us the opportunity to grow our compassion, thankfulness and desire for the greater good.

Self identity can be defined by others; however, once you are aware that you are in charge of how you define yourself, constructing and living out your identity is a very empowering experience.  May you enjoy your journey into personal growth as you choose your self identity and encourage others with your abilities.

#MyStory #Identity #SpokeInsight