Who Am I?

No, this is not a post about me and my struggles to search for my identity.

Rather, it is a tool which you could use to grasp a clearer picture of your goals. It does not mean that you do not understand what you want, but rather a reminder of what you already understand.

Write a list of 20 items which defines you. Do it fairly quickly. The moment you think if it is really what you are and acceptable, you are betraying the rules of this exercise. So don't over-think, just do.

Done?

Now spare a little more thought to your answers and list down 20 items of what you want to define you.

Easy as this tool seems, I can safely assume that all of us do not have a perfect match up in the 2 lists. Many of us simply brush the missed goals under the carpet in light of the many distractions around us. What have we done differently today that gives us a shot (maybe even a long one) at attaining our goals?

It actually isn't hard to do something different today. Consider this, we are actors on a stage in our lifetimes. You might not buy this concept but I'll give a few examples. When you walk into a posh orchestra concert hall, do you carry yourself with more grace than when at the cinema? When you like an action-packed girl, do you carry yourself differently from when you liked a demure girl before?

It is perfectly okay being actors. It is not okay if we are not actors. Had we been abandoned by our parents when young and caged up in some forgotten forest, we will have no idea how to behave the way we are now. It's like asking a wild monkey to do a front flip in front of a camera for everyone to laugh and reward it with a banana.

Now, most of us fall into 2 broad and generalised categories of people. One is the traditional, the other is capitalist modern.

Traditional people behave the way they do because in their community, they apply the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" mentality.

Capitalist moderners embrace change. Superficiality plays a big part in our acting and we try on new roles like changing clothes with the seasons. The ease of jumping into new roles is embraced by this community. The implication of this is that, many of the youths are constantly asking themselves in the chaos, "who am I?" Adults tend to understand the picture better but impressionable teenagers are still in the transition and often find this that much harder to accept.

I have 2 friends who I have assumed to be fundamentally moderners. 1 of them is madly in love with a traditional girl while another is en route to getting hitched with ms. traditional too. It is important now to recognise that in assuming these 2 guys are planning a family future with their girls, they are in the very least expecting some blissful marriage of mentalities. Personally, I feel that this is a very dangerous expectation because who we are is hugely moulded in our foundations of morals and values, while growing up. But just like real actors, Ben Stiller is mostly suited to playing different type of comedic roles while Keanu Reeves is often seen in 'God-I'm-so-serious' roles. Switch them to the other genre and what do you get? A very big chance of a movie flop.

I hope I have made an impact on my readers in chasing their dreams. Play your role right and you'll get a larger shot at a happy life, minus the other health worries. Good luck!

Disclaimer : to my friend who I have mentioned is "en route", I might be mistaken about your fundamentals. I admit yours isn't a very clear situation.