We Are More Than What We Achieve

Jane Taylor
JT - Success is not final, failure is not fatal It is the courage to continue that counts.

One thing that I got tangled up in growing up was that I was what I achieved as a professional tennis player. However what I know now without a shadow of a doubt is that we are so much more than what we achieve, Subsequently today I wanted to share a bit about-

  • What is Identity?,
  • The Different Aspects of Identity,
  • Performance-Based Identity, and
  • Transforming a Performance-Based Identity in to Purpose-Driven Identity.

Let’s get started…

What is Identity?

Identity is complex, however following are some definitions –

  • “a person’s name and other facts about who they are” ~ Cambridge Dictionary,
  • “the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another” ~ Dictionary.com,
  • “The identity of a person or place is the characteristics they have that distinguish them from others.” ~ Collins Dictionary, and
  • “refers to our sense of who we are as individuals and as members of social groups. It also refers to our sense of how others may perceive and label us.” ~ Facinghistory.org.

The Different Aspects of Identity –

There are many aspects that make up a persons identity from what they do (i.e. professional identify) to where we do it (i.e. organisational identity) to how we do it (performance-based identity). Also linked in to this is gender, ethnicity, beliefs, age, ability, race etc.

Performance-Based Identity –

Since I finished playing professionally, I haven’t been around tennis much. I think last month was the 3rd time I had been back to the Australian Open since I finished playing (1997). When I went back this time, it reminded me of the life I lived for many years and how it fed in to a performance-based identity.

What is a performance-based identity? To my understanding, Benjamin J Houltberg coined the term and linked in to sport (however I can also see how it links to other domains of life that is performance-based). People with a “performance-based identity” have contingent self-worth, high perfectionism and a fear of failure. For example – “If I win, then I will be …, If I get that promotion, then I…”. This means that a person’s sense of self is wrapped up in how well they do in comparison to others and has been proven.

Transforming a Performance-Based Identity in to Purpose-Driven Identity

There is another way and that is to transform a performance-based identity in to a purpose-driven identity. A purpose-driven identity is the belief that you are here for a purpose. Your purpose is intrinsically motivating, unique to you and is also bigger than you. And yes, like anything this take work and commitment.

Over to You…

I hope this post has given you some insight in to remembering that we are more than what we achieve. Knowing this helps, however enacting and embodying this information is where it comes alive. If you have any questions, or comments, please leave them below.

If you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards freedom and opening your heart, why not join our Toolkit?

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