Who are you?

A while back I listened to a talk given by Albert Koopman and he said, "Who are you? If you do not know who you are then you become what you do."

Earlier I had heard Dr. Alan Weiss saying that the people who describe themselves by the function they perform (I am an accountant. I am a programmer. I am a librarian. etc.) are most devastated by being laid off because they have lost their identity.

Who are you? Are you what you do or do you do what you do because of who you are?

Comments

Anonymous said…
hi Richard,hope you re okay..I`m really sorry about your mom.

your question made me think and ponder..,who am i?

before i used to live the way i should live.now i think this is me who lives with my whole self around me :)
TorAa said…
Important question;D

I like to write, read and communicate
knowledge and experiences.

And that's what i do for living.
Rashenbo said…
I am ME... the one the only... the Rashenbo :)

I hope that all is well for you and yours. Take care.
B said…
Fortunately, I feel that I do know who I am...a bit too much perhaps. So much so that it can work against me, as I do not often like the confines of a particular job. I do agree with this...that those who don't know who they are do attach themselves to the function they perform.

Again, my thoughts and condolences to your family during this time, Richard.
Richard said…
ghee: I'm fine (really). For a long time, I would alsways answer "me". Then I got a little depressed and wasn't sure. Now I am back to just being "me".

toraa: so it sounds like you do what you like - which is very important.

rashenbo: I am glad to hear you have a strong sense of self.

breal: like you, I sometimes think that being too self aware has disadvantages. It is odd, because always blieved that the more one is self aware, the better. However, looking around me, it seems that people are quite happy not dwelling too much on themselves.

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