Who Are You? // Silence Is Sacred // Busy Does Not Equal Productive
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Who Are You?
Photo by Annie Jiao
who are you?
really, who are you? you might say you are Jane Doe, or you might define yourself by your career, or who you are in your community, but does that really define you? the answer is that no, it doesn't.
if you got married and changed your name, or got laid off and had to change careers, or moved to a new city, your character would largely remain unchanged.
the reality is that even we are unsure of who we really are. we have a vague idea of our interests and what makes us us, but we tend to avoid showing 100% of that to others. as a result, our lives turn into a weird conglomeration of show and truth, and the show eventually ends up the clouding the truth that we believe of ourselves.
a good exercise is to habitually ask yourself: who am i? or if you want to start out a little lighter, ask yourself: is what i'm doing or how i'm portraying myself in alignment with who i believe myself to be?
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Silence Is Sacred
Silence is sacred. Silence is the “noise” that growth makes. Silence can be a great teacher, allowing us to break free of externalities and listen to the world and ourselves exactly as they are, completely uncensored.
In the hyperactivity and connectivity of today, we’ve come to dread stillness. Results are expected instantaneously and idleness is to be avoided at all costs in favor of doing. But just know it doesn’t have to be like that. Listen and let silence speak for itself.
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Busy Does Not Equal Productive
Busy ≠ productive. This is an error in thinking that I find myself falling into from time to time. I often find myself spending days on a project only to realize that no real progress has occurred. In my case, I think it has to do with a mix of perfectionism and avoidance. For me, things have to be as perfect as possible before I take the leap and share it with the world. And despite how much I love doing my projects, I also believe that it has something to do with simply wanting to do something forth sake of doing and not necessarily having a clear goal with it.
Like all things, though, I’m working through this and trying to turn my actions into a roadmap. So my advice to you (as well as for myself) is to act with intention and not simply for the sake of action.
