Throughout our lives, we have multiple identities. We may be fathers, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, leaders, businessmen, athletes, and the list goes on.
We have title after title. We have position after position. We have responsibility after responsibility.
The crazy thing is, we can get lost and easily forget who we are.
That’s one of the reasons why I loved watched the beginning of CBS’s CSI: Miami. The theme song for the show was The Who’s Who Are You song.
Who Are You is a catchy song that, at the beginning, simply asks Who are you? Who, who, who, who?
The question is pointed and it’s loaded.
Do you know who you are? Do I know who you are? Who are you?
There’s a good reason this resonates with me. It should resonate with you.
With all of the titles and roles and responsibilities we carry, our true identity easily gets lost. We forget who we are.
I know you’ve seen this.
Maybe it’s been your boss. He has completely lost himself in his work. He’s at the office from 4AM to 7PM. He’s had multiple marriages, all failed. He’s lost and wandering.
Maybe it’s your spouse. She’s tried to live up to your expectations. She’s trying to live up to her friends perception of her. She’s seen the magazines and desires to be like the models she sees.
Maybe it’s your child. He loves his daddy and wants to be the perfect son. He’s listening to his friends and finding their influence growing. He’s taken the wrong path and thinks he can’t come back.
These are just 3 people in your life who you might have seen struggle with who they are, their identity.
Heck, you might even see yourself in one of these examples.
You feel lost. You forgot your joy. You no longer know your passion.
Everything seems so empty to you.
If this is you, you’ve lost who you are in the crazy world we live in. But there’s good news.
Even if you don’t know who you are today, you can find yourself. You can remember who you are. You can be the person you were made to be.
Reflect on your past: The past is behind us and there’s nothing left to learn there, right? Wrong! There’s so much we can learn from our past.
One of the ways to know who you are is to revisit the past. Look at who you were way back when and see if you recognize that person.
He probably had dreams. He probably had ambition. He probably had a vision of who he was.
He’s probably more you than you are today.
Focus on today: You’re in a different spot than you were in the past. Or maybe you don’t even remember the past. But you’re here today.
And even if you’re not fully aware of who you are, you can feel passion within you. You know there’s something more within you.
Focus on that feeling. Try to draw it out. See what’s there and play with it.
You may find a new part of you that you didn’t know existed.
Think on the future: Plenty of research has shown that those on their deathbeds have regrets of not living a life true to them. They’ve lived others lives and feel empty as they enter into the next life.
What can this teach you? You can begin to think on the future and what you want for yourself and those around you. Picture a future where you have a life you enjoy, a job you love, etc.
If this is what you truly want, begin to plan your life around these items. Make life choices that will help you reach those destinations.
Let this mold you into who you are.
Finding ourselves and who we are isn’t easy. It’s messy and dirty. Sometimes it’s even painful. Yet it’s necessary if we want to live true lives.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.