Who Are You?

If I asked you right now to tell me who you are, what would be your response? Most of the time, we tend to answer with our titles (mother, student, therapist, teacher, diabetic, alcoholic). But, beneath all of these roles we take on, who are we really? Not the role we play, but deeper than that. This can be a scary and daunting task because it takes awareness of not only our strengths, but our shame, our sadness, our guilt. 

Surprisingly, when we are younger we have more confidence in who we are. I’ve asked a few of the kiddo clients I work with and they have no problem telling me who they are. As children, we tend not to focus on our roles. I wonder what shifts between childhood and adulthood that leads us to focus so much on our titles and less on the deeper fulfillment when we honor our values. 

We are all different and there is beauty in that. These values make up who we are at our core. Are you compassionate? Are you curious? Are you private? Are you resilient? I had a chance to sit with this question of “Who am I?” during a self-awareness retreat last week and it was a difficult, but transformative experience. I think we place so much emphasis on our roles, but we are so much more than that. Maybe take a moment to sit and reflect on this and come up with a few values that you hold at your core. Let those grounded, positive sensations really soak in. 

And my next encouragement is to reflect on if you feel like you are incorporating your values in your everyday life. Are you giving yourself the capacity to feel full and content to the best of your ability? For example, I value vulnerability. Every day that I work with clients I am in the presence of someone being vulnerable and honoring not only me, but themselves. 

So, I will leave you with my answer to the daunting question… who am I? I am resilient, intentional, carefree, soft-spoken, compassionate, empathic, and so much more. Who are you?