Our Name is one Aspect of us, but our Identity is a Different Ball Game
Attaching “a lot” of importance to the name you bear over the identity you have is like borrowing and posing.
Imagine a blank canvass: how do you picture yourself?
A name is what either our parents or caregivers gave us based on either how the situation surrounding your birth was or the type of emotions they felt when we were birthed or what they felt suited us most. Whatever the case maybe it’s not something we chose to call ourselves. At the same time, it’s not like we could bear a blank pending when we become adults.
A name is needed to prompt us to respond, it is how we know we’ve been beckoned to. It is what kick-starts our identification, but certainly not the end of it.
Most people tend to dwell on their not-so-lovely sounding names and become ashamed to be called so. At times they end up giving themselves more “suitable” names. On the other hand, some people are so proudof their names that they don’t hesitate to scream it from their lungs with a sheepish smile when (not) asked.
While a name starts the identification process, it’s still just a name you were given. Identity, on the other hand, is what you choose to create yourself. That is why it’s paramount to gear more towards your identity than identification.
Our identity is who we are in our most authentic state. Those innate abilities, skills, core beliefs, personifications, ideals, methodology, perception, feelings, and other idiosyncrasies.
Our identity is something no one could ever confer or strip us from
It is truly an aspect of us that is inescapable — even from us to ourselves.
No matter how much you run, it’ll always find you and nudge you to align with it.
Your taste in relationships, your beliefs towards certain things, your natural state of vibing, and your energy are all that your identity encapsulates.
It is in knowing what we identify with that we can term what our identities are.
One of the tools to enable you to reveal what you’re made of is through practicing self-awareness
A great sense of self allows you to recognize what you’re easily magnetized to — as opposed or endearing as it may be to society. It’s like saying your taste is your taste, your spirit remains the same. The biggest cause of discomfort arises from cognitive dissonance through engaging or indulging in things that our beings aren’t compatible with. Self-awareness helps to ascertain those so-called erratic behaviors you portray, which of course, helps you learn and understand that it’s just your true self playing itself out.
For example: if you out rightly dislike dishonest people when you haven’t really encountered them much or been engraved with the moral standards to this point, you might wonder why you despise them so much despite being a natural thing from other’s perspectives.
If this is the case: it just means your inner wiring has been constructed in a way that rejects such people or habits.
Another example is having what people call a sweet soul or a pure heart.
If you find yourself constantly believing in people and their innocence or tend to accept that everyone is good and can be trusted, you fall into this category. And so when you happen to witness otherwise, it gnaws at you badly. But you still end up forgiving so easily (maybe not forgetting), without being sought after — despite the hurt.
There’s no need to fight it, it’s just your nature.
Our identities suffer when we elude from them
People’s identities can be affected by the way they’re raised, but as long they rediscover themselves, it’s always a different ball game entirely.
This is why you find people reclaiming their old or abandoned names or choosing to name themselves something different.
Why? Because a name is still a part of that process.
I remember when I used to be ashamed of being called Comet. I thought it stood out comically. Although I found out the meaning behind it and the sentiment that led to the naming. I figured I was reacting based on the bulky I got from it. But now I’m much older, that’s all I want to bear.
In this sense, it’s making me feel strong, bold, and courageous when I say my name is Comet. It’s empowering. And due to that, I get a lot of compliments and positive comments from people to who I mention the name.
A name is how you brand yourself
It is through your name you get a glimpse of who you want to be. Through your name, you can create meaning in life. By obeying your instincts and embracing all the traits your person comes with. Branding is what lets you carve a niche for yourself. Because chances are, many people bear the same name as yours and possibly possess a similar spirit to yours. What stands you out is how you brand yourself, in and out, from time to time. A name brands you, but your identity rebrands you.
That’s how we know you’re a different type of Andrew amongst the many Andrews there are for instance.
Branding also connotes what and how you exemplify your means of living or surviving while tapping into your core being. Hence, why it’s usually included in a business name for instance.
A name connotes some meaning to one’s life it’s how we proved to have developed as kids, a reflection of who we may turn out to be it’s not the end of it. Our identity, on the other hand, is how we use what we are made of to make an impact in the world. It is how we utilize the name we’ve been given (assuming we are comfortable with them).
No matter the circumstance, we can’t escape our inner wiring. We can try but it will always result in painful aftermath. The best we can do is tune into ourselves and recognize what our patterns are trying to tell us. It is through those unplanned irrational habits that we filter who we are meant to be. And it would be serving us to work with them than antithetically working against them.
It is through this means we rebrand ourselves and create a means of living more over surviving. This is how we course-correct and ultimately make an impactful stay while still breathing — until we cant.
It starts by simply understanding that a name is just a name; although it kick-starts the process of our identification, our identities encompass much more than that. Dwell on that.
Thanks for your time.
