Have You Confused Who You Are With What You Do?

Have you confused who you are with what you do?  If someone asks you about yourself, do you respond with ‘I am the PTA President’ or ‘I am a lawyer at a downtown firm.’  What if you had to tell someone who you are without saying anything about what you do?  Would it be easy or would it be hard?

I know for me it is hard.  Recently I have found myself responding to that question with ‘I am a bassoon playing Life Coach who proof reads.’  (I actually kind of like it – I am thinking about getting business cards printed, but I am not sure it will all fit!)  But if I stop to think about it, none of that is who I am, it is all what I do.  And even though I think I do it all quite well, it is still what I do and not who I am.

Who am I?  I am a loving, passionate, caring, helping soul.  What do I do?  I play the bassoon, I help people find out who they are and what makes their heart sing and how to get from where they are to where they want to be, and I help people with their manuscripts, blogs, flyers, and other written projects.  And who I am greatly affects what I do, but they are not the same thing.

I invite you to sit down in a comfortable place and think about who you truly are, and how it differs from what you do, and how it leads to what you do.  Think about you for a while, and what makes you who you are.  What is at your core, your essence.  See what you come up with.  How will you answer that question the next time it is asked?

Feel free to share what you find with us – comments are always welcome.