How You Define Yourself

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One of my childhood heroes took his own life last week. His name was Keith Emerson, from Emerson Lake and Palmer. He was one best keyboard players in the world. At age 71, he apparently had nerve damage in his hands and he could no longer perform at the same level.

We all know that former athlete that still relives the past glory days at every opportunity. It’s always interesting to see how people define themselves. Growing up I remember defining myself through the people I hung out with. When I started weight training I defined myself by my physicality. I even had periods where I defined myself by the girl I was dating, the place I was living, or the job I had.

How do you define yourself? Do you derive your sense of self-worth through one thing? What if the attribute for which you most identify yourself with were to go away? You lose your well paying job, your physical appearance declines, or you can no longer perform an activity that represents your greatest talent. Is that all you are?

How much of your happiness is dependent upon how you define yourself? If your self worth is tied to a single skill or attribute you are setting yourself up for unhappiness. One guarantee in life is that things will change. Your ability to adapt and accept those changes will correlate to the level of happiness you experience. None of us can afford to put all of our proverbial happiness eggs in one basket. When I look at the scope of life, mental wellbeing ranks at the top of the list. Wouldn’t it make sense to ensure that your happiness is not solely dependent upon one attribute in your life?

We are all much bigger than any single attribute. If you live a long enough you will eventually lose your looks, your physical abilities will deteriorate, and relationships will end. If you are not prepared to adapt and derive happiness from other sources you could find yourself alone and depressed.

It’s time to take a look at how you define yourself and realize that you are multi-faceted, resilient human being. When life changes, you change with it. Stay open to new things in life that bring you joy. Remember you are not your job, your body or your skill. It’s time to acknowledge the bigger picture.