WHO ARE YOU?
WHO ARE YOU?
When asked to introduce yourself, what do you say? ?
I love to formulate this question in a first encounter because we tend to define ourselves in a wide variety of ways: mostly, what we “do for a living”, where we come from, our age, our social status…we tend to adapt to the circumstances but our jobs do remain a big deal of it (I will come back to that in another post) and most important: nothing seems to be ever enough to define us.
Are we actually able to define our identities?
Is identity something restrictive, fixed that we cannot do much about?
Now that this term is such a fashionable concept (especially due to Diversity & Inclusion), the purpose of this Newsletter is to help us grasp its use, concept and implication both at individual and collective level.
What is the definition of IDENTITY?
Etymologically, the word comes from Latin, “Identitas”, which means IDEM, the same.
So, if we stick to the word’s origins and logic, our identity would be what remains the same in us during our lives – it means what does not change.
But honestly, are you the same today as when you were a kid? ?Definitely not and this is where Paul RICOEUR, a famous French Philosopher (1913-2005) comes in with his powerful concept of IDENTITY.
He shares 2 main elements of our identity:
IDEM – “the same” ?- It is our “fixed identity”, ?what does not change in us. This is our DNA, the colour of our eyes, some of our personality traits, all what makes us special whatever the even if time passes. This is what most people would refer to when seeing you again after years : “You have not changed!”
IPSE – the opposite of idem – our “dynamic part” - ?because yes we never stop changing and transform over life. Hopefully we improve, we change places, we develop different abilities, create new relations…
Identity is therefore a mix between what moves and what stays. It is a concept that evolutes and I find this beautiful and hopeful.
We can integrate all our changes whilst remaining the same person. We can still say “I” even though life is a constant change and shapes us in different manners.
RICOEUR goes one step further by introducing the concept of NARRATIVE IDENTITY – Identity is what we say about ourselves. Think about what you chose to share, how you build your storytelling (not fake one obviously) because this is what remains of you and for you.
Identity becomes therefore limitless and Ricoeur enables us to escape our limits and take the lead of our life and identity.
LightUp is all about switching IDENTITIES ON and based on this concept as we accompany individuals and companies to create their future.
Let's change the perspective and go from WHO AM I? To WHAT DO I WANT TO SAY ABOUT ME AND MY LIFE? during 2025.
Happy New Year full of IDENTITY!
(Share it if you like it + Say it if you need more or something else)
#identity #philosophy #coaching #personaldevelopment #leadership