We have no identity beyond that which we are; humans!
Who are you? I have this idea that this question does not have a finite answer and I’d like a chance to explain to you why and what this means, so if you are intrigued, I am glad, if you’re not, I’ll maybe catch you in the next article, or you may check out my previous ones if you haven’t yet.
So, do you know who you are? Give it a moment, think about it and give this question an answer. If it’s ‘yes’, then, who are you? (Answer this too) If it’s ‘no’, or you are not sure, no worries, we are in this together, but I would like to pull us out at once.
If you confidently believe that you know who you are, then you have probably done some homework, looked up about personality types and their corresponding Behaviours or characters and all that, and kudos to you. It is generally perceived as a very positive thing for one to know who they are.
However, I think we are not strangers to the fact that Behaviour and character are subject to change, conditional change, especially. I know we are familiar enough with the two words — character and Behaviour — but let me go ahead and define them here, for the purpose of the point(s) I intend to make ahead. Behaviour — the way in which one conducts oneself, especially towards others. Character — the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.
Behaviour and character have an origin that is dependent on the adaptive nature of our brains. In their functioning, our brains lean more towards serving the primary purpose of our survival, therefore, depending on the environment you are in, how you conduct yourself will be guided by what the brain deems best to serve your survival needs, and this is guided by your mental and moral qualities.
This happens perpetually enough for the birth of conditioning. If you stay long enough in that environment that led to your Behaviour, it becomes imprinted in your brain, how to conduct yourself in said environment in order to thrive. This is one dimension of it.
The other dimension is created by other people’s perceptions of how you conduct yourself. Different people might have a closely similar perception of it, but due to their own mental and moral qualities, which are different, there will be differences.
There is also another dimension where you also have a perception of how you conduct yourself, which will most likely be with differences too since you also have different mental and moral qualities.
All these dimensions of situations create a pool of probably slightly or more contradicting answers to the question, “Who are you?” Who, then, shall we consider to be with the most accurate answer?
The other part of this that dismantles the whole setup to create a new one is if you either change environment drastically — in which case, your brain will come up with different ways for you to conduct yourself to thrive in the new environment — or, you could put in deliberate effort to change your Behaviour, along with your character, and you would undoubtedly succeed.
Therefore, who we are is not finite, we can become whoever, given the right conditions, deliberate or otherwise. So, besides the names we go by and the patterns that are recognised in us by others or ourselves, we do not really have identity, and that is not a bad thing at all, we are free to become whoever we choose. It sure takes a great deal of effort that some of us might not deem worthy, but it is possible.
What I wish you to take from this is: do not be frustrated by the thought that you are stuck with who you think you are or who other people think you are. If you are not happy with it, you can reset and become different, maybe better.
Thank you for sparing your precious time to read this. I am grateful.
