Life Purpose... What is Yours?

Have you been asked about your identity? Do you always answer the same way or does it depend on the context, or on who asks the question? For example, if I am asked where I am from, when I am in Lisbon, I’ll say I’m from Alcântara, my neighbourhood. Whereas, if I am in The Netherlands, I’ll simply say I’m from Portugal. On the other hand, if I am at work, the identity I feel more strongly is my professional one, but if I am in the hospital with my dad, my main identity in that moment is of daughter.

In this session, we will explore your identity from different perspectives. Bring a notebook and a pen. Let’s go!

(Thanks to the Univeristy of Michigan for both identity wheels)

Thanks for accepting the challenge! What I wanted you to get out of that exercise was a comparison point. I find it interesting to ask “who am I?” out of context, and then contextualise the question. If you hated the exercise because you were not sure what exactly it was about, this one is for you, because it has more guidance. I adapted this sheet from the University of Michigan and it focusses on personal identity. Who am I as an individual?

First, I will use myself as an example, but get your resources ready: you can do this in a notebook or you can print out the sheet I’ve attached to the course materials. Go off and get yourself organised and I’ll wait right here.

Once you conclude this part, you will have reflected on your personal identity.

Now that you have a more complete idea about your identity as a flexible and plural entity, and this is key: your identity is neither singular nor fixed; it is plural and flexible. In other words, it changes depending on who you interact with, what the context is, and it different identities come up in different scenarios.

Let’s do a visualisation together.

Let me invite you to think about what moves you. Let us think about values as something tangible. Download the 4 quadrants PDF or take a blank piece of paper and divide it into 4 sections. This is an exercise used in ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). Each of the 4 boxes represents an area in your life: work, love, health, and play.

Now, write 2 or 3 values that move you in each of those areas. In the video, I will fill an example in for you.

We have already explored different aspects of your identity and we’ve thought about your values, what moves you. Now it’s time to think about how you move. Does the way you move take you towards the life you want to live? Does the way you move take you towards the person you want to be in the world? Or are you moving in the opposite direction? Are you moving away from the person you want to be, the life you want to live? Not sure?

No matter what direction you are moving towards or away from, I have the tool for you! It is called The Choice Point and it is a wonderful tool that I learned about through the inspirational doctor, psychologist and educator Russ Harris.

Well done for taking the time to learn more about yourself. By knowing what moves you and by taking better care of yourself, you are now in a better position to take care of others. Now make sure you get out there and shine your unique light into the world, because it needs you!