What is Identity?

When I read the Power of Now by Echarte Tolle many years ago, it transformed the way I see life. I was already on a path to separate from my thoughts and be mindful of the present moment through meditation, but this book made those concepts click. However, one item I struggled with was the idea of Identity. I agreed that we shouldn’t seek to derive happiness from external forms like new purchases, our body, and even our achievements, but then should we not enjoy those indulgences, should we not strive towards achievements? This brief article aims to discuss the idea of Identity, and how we might identify with it in a positive, healthy way.

I had forgotten all about the concept of Identity until I came across James Clear’s Atomic Habits. James suggests building an Identity from the positive actions we take in the form of habits and behaviours, to meet our goals. One way I see it, is the habits we undertake daily build the system, and acting out the system then builds our Identity. Every time we go to eat a sugary cake, if our Identity is that we eat healthy, we say “I’m not the type of person who has a sweet tooth”. Or if we identify with physical health and we miss a gym day, we say, “I am not the type of person who doesn’t work out, I’ll get back on it tomorrow”.

And here in lies the distinction, one which was there the whole time. This is similar to what Echarte Tolle calls the “essence Identity”, with the former negative depiction being the “form Identity”. However Mr Tolle approaches it from a more spiritual viewpoint. I believe viewing Identity in two distinct ways, can help us understand how to use Identity to our advantage, and to avoid the path to unhappiness through creating an Identity associated with the unconscious ego. Below is how I am currently making distinctions between the two.

The negative Identity (to be mindful of and not associate with):

• Identifies with thoughts and stories in our mind unconsciously. Creating damaging states, such as being someone who feels they are not valuable or who doesn’t deserve love.
• Identifies with external objects and the body, believing a new car or a certain physique is Identity, always wanting more, and devastated if it ceases to exist.
• Identifies with achievements and skills, thinking this is who they are, creates a feeling of being superior, and is devastated when things change.
• Is deep rooted in thoughts of the past or future, taking you out of the present moment.
• Creates the ego, which constantly tries to preserve itself by playing out self-fulfilling, unconscious stories and taking unconscious actions.

The positive Identity (to re-enforce through habits and behaviours)

• Aligns with consciously decided, purposeful inner values.
• Identifies with positive values like being healthy without having body form. Sees utility in nice things, but does not derive personal value from them.
• Still knows and has access to the skills and knowledge, uses them in a mindful, collaborative way.
• Is deep rooted in the present moment, and makes decisions automatic as we quickly disregard options that do not take us closer towards our values.
• Helps drive habits and behaviours, creating lasting positive change
• Is the path to our true Being, our inner truth, without externally driven, past, or future pre-conditioning.

This is a concept I am still experimenting with, and would love to hear your thoughts on how you associate with, or derive meaning from the idea of Identity.