"Who Am I?" — Are You Happy with Your Answer?

Change surrounds me. The leaves are still on the trees, but there's a foot of snow at the top of the mountains. It was t-shirt weather a week ago, but tonight I was shivering under my jacket.

And the words a friend recently asked himself are echoing in my head, "Who do I want to be?"

The very question is inspired. It's a clue that reveals the presence of a curious mind and a good soul: this is a person who moves through the world with intention.

One fact you need to know: this friend is successful, accomplished and confident.

When successful people ask piercing questions of themselves, it becomes obvious that this is their superpower. Instead of resting on their laurels, they are asking whether it's time to reorient, to shift priorities and to avoid slipping too far into "being comfortable".

I've asked this question recently and come up with the answer, "Yes." But my objective today isn't to dwell on my own story, other than to acknowledge that I decided to change many aspects of my life.

Let's talk about you.

Are you brave, ambitious, confident and creative enough to ask:

"Who do I want to be?"

Right here, right now you are the result of a complex set of patterns that have emerged over the course of your life. Some were forced on you, some you made a conscious decision to adopt and most others drifted in each time you opened or closed a door:

• "be gritty"
• "fend for yourself"
• "be responsible"
• don't take chances"
• "trust no one"
• "trust everyone"

And so on. You probably don't even know all the patterns that guide your life, or at least the unintended consequences to which they lead. For example:

Q. What happens when you always take the same route to work?

A. You end up living in a very small bubble.

I don't want to take too much of your time, so let's get to the point.

You can decide who you want to be. You can make that decision over the course of the next few months. You can decide to be happy, thrilled and excited about the you that already exists in the world... or you can decide to make some adjustments.

I do not care what you decide.

I care only that you make a considered decision, because the alternative is to sleepwalk through life.

Bruce Kasanoff is the co-founder of Park City Think Tank. Their Weekly Wisdom social media program helps entrepreneurs connect deeply with the people who matter most to them.