Who am I?

Who am I?

Who are you? Who is that person running through your veins, that itch under the skin that is your identity?

It's kind of a scary question. You may be thinking: do I really want to go there? Do I really want to know who I am and have to own up to it? Will I even like who's down there?

I was listening to a podcast yesterday in which the author and motivational speaker, Brendon Burchard, was explaining our drives–what motivates us to be our best selves. All of a sudden he said something that clicked: What is your identity? If you don't define it, then you can't be it. I had never thought of it that way before. I just figured you had a self whether you knew it or not that pushed you ahead in your "youness". And then it hit me:

I don't really know who I am. 

Do you?

Burchard suggests choosing three words to define yourself, and then to be those things everyday. So, here it goes.

1. I am creative. I don't know if I always have the best ideas, but I definitely feel most alive when I'm working on one of my projects. On the contrary, I feel kind of lost and that life is missing its zest when I'm not involved in something. It's like boiled water versus ginger tea. I need a good amount of ginger.

2. I am free. I don't like confines, angles, squares, being blocked in. I need the possibility to change, whether it be style, a job, an apartment, a city...

3. I am curious. I want to know about people, about different things that catch my eye or my attention. I like to open doors that are closed, search for words in the dictionary, ponder about a spiral that some insects are forming...

So, there you go, folks. Are these three words fixed, or will they change with time as I change? That is, do I have an essence, a me that it always me? Or is my identity mutable? I really don't know.

What are your three words? I'm really curious to hear, so write them down below!

Text: Kristen Mastromarchi

Photo: "Who am I?" by TH(i)E photography is marked with CC BY 2.0.