Maintaining Your Identity in Changing Times

4 Powerful outside influences

1) Jobs and friends. If we get our identity from what we do, then the loss of a job can trigger a full-blown identity crisis. If your identity is based on who you know, the loss of a friend might cause you to question who you really are.

2) Advertisers. We would all like to think that we make up our own minds about most things.  In reality we are constantly being conditioned by our environment to link certain things with pain or pleasure.  Advertisers study human behavior in an effort to link their products to our emotions.  Their advertising campaigns are designed to create subconscious, emotional associations designed to influence the choices we make.

3) Associates. The attitude of our close associates also has a powerful influence on our personal paradigms.  Their opinions can actually precondition us to view things the way that they do.  We may value someone else’s opinion so much, that we subconsciously adopt their viewpoint without any personal experience.

4) Crowds. Groups can also shape our preferences.  In such cases, acceptance often hinges on our ability to conform to group opinion.

Internal verses external

Your life and its many pursuits should be an expression of your most cherished dreams and values.  Not the ones dictated to you by advertisers, friends, or group opinions.

Most people choose a life course that is based on external criteria.  They end up following a path that leads away from the expression of their true self. Consequently, with each step they actually distance themselves from the life they truly long for.

Know yourself

Circumstances and friends have a way of changing.  Sometimes they support our dreams and passions while at other times they provide a challenge.  The ability to keep your dreams alive in the face of challenging circumstances is one of the greatest attributes of a successful person.

To accomplish this requires that you actually know who you really are and what you really want. Once you are in touch with your true self, the changes around you become much less influential. Instead of your identity being anchored to external forces, it remains safe and secure no matter which way the winds of change decide to blow.