Sustainability Tools | JDC EXEC
IDENTITY CRISIS
Did you find yourself?
Janine Do Cabo | Sustainability & Leadership Development | JHB, SA
Feb 2021
Being in an identity crisis is never easy. As mentioned in our previous blog post, it’s a journey that unravels over time giving us titbits of how wonderful we actually are along the way and giving us the opportunity to love and embrace what we discover. It could change as life does and it may require that we rediscover who we are, but the process is rewarding and fulfilling.
The question then can be posed, how do we know when we’ve found ourselves or arrived at our final destination? In today’s blog post we will provide the answer to this question.
What does finding yourself look like?
If an identity crisis looks like confusion and upheaval, then finding ourselves is marked with assuredness and peace. It’s the stage that follows knowing our worth and what defines happiness to us as individuals and knowing what process we would need to go on if we may have to rediscover ourselves again. Keeping in mind that as long as we are on the earth, the rain will fall making the foundation we’ve built the house that keeps our identity intact – the difference.
That being said, remaining patient with ourselves allows us to maintain our new-found sense of belonging.
What follows is something beautiful because we know what our strengths and weaknesses are allowing us to step into our purpose which is the WHY described in our first identity crisis blog post.
Why am I here?
In his book, Understanding your potential, Dr. Myles Munroe wrote,
“People generally fall into one of three groups: the few who make things happen, the many who watch things happen, and the overwhelming majority who have no notion of what happens. Every person is either a creator of fact or a creature of circumstance. He either puts color into his environment or, like a chameleon, takes color from his environment.”
When we know our identity, we desire to be the few people who make things happen, and whether we’re aware of it or not start looking for it at work, in family or friends and most often than not seem to miss the mark because where we should be searching for it is within.
Deep in the hearts of every human is the reason we were born, but it doesn’t seem as urgent when we don’t know or are unsure of who we are. Once who we are is established, we can move onto why I’m here. Finding that out may be as simple as remembering a childhood dream that was abandoned when others mocked it, or for others, it may be found in the problem you desire most to solve. The thing that irks you.
Let’s have a look at each.
Young dreaming
When we are young, we dream. It’s healthy and perfectly normal. It’s not the kind of dreaming we do when we sleep but rather the kind that calls upon our imagination. It’s a crucial time in our lives when we believe we can do and be anything we want and no one has told us otherwise. Oprah Winfrey said that she always knew she wanted more than what her family told her she could have and in doing so, dreamed of having the kinds of things her family didn’t have. It wasn’t clear, but it assisted her in defying what society said she had no right to have because of her skin color and family circumstances.
When soul-searching, you may need to revisit your childhood conversations, memories, hobbies, and happy places to see just where your purpose lies.
The problem-solver
Your purpose could be as clear as what annoys you about life/your workplace/your community. It’s more than a pointless irritation, but rather something that you see ways to improve on whatever it is. Say for example you place an order at Mcdonald’s at the drive-through and there’s a delay in the service. It would be one thing to get annoyed because you were hungry, but another if as you sat annoyed you were able to think of a process that provided service more efficiently so that customers don’t have to wait that long.
Both identity and purpose work hand-in-hand to bring fulfillment to every individual patient and willing to search for it.
I think my purpose definitely is connected to my irritations !
Great blog , thanks coach Janine
only a pleasure! What makes you laugh, what makes you sing and what makes you cry?