Category: Identity

Can you teach a zebra to be a lion?

…Probably not anymore than you can teach a lion to be a zebra.

One thing is for sure though, we humans aren’t born lions or zebras.

We’re born as mostly blank slated creatures filled to brim with potential.

And sure, some of us might be born with more zebra tendencies and others with more lion characteristics.

But, we aren’t born lions or zebras.

The thing about potential is that it’s malleable. It can be worked, cultivated, and changed. We get to choose what kind of existence we want to lead.

If we tell ourselves we’re zebras—so shall it be. But, we can also train ourselves to be a lion and slowly our roar will come to be. If we’re not aware of our potential and how malleable it can actually be…

We’ll end up just becoming the creature society tells us to be…

And we might live an existence that feels out of place… not quite right… lackluster or uneventful… mismatched or frustrating… lonely and like our herd is forever missing…

…And what a tragedy that would be.

What’s a moment from your childhood that taught you to hide your true self?

…For me?

I think back to times when I got my feelings hurt and started crying and was made fun of… which taught me to hide moments of embarrassment and pain…

Or times when I would eagerly answer a question in school or get a higher grade on a test or assignment than my friends and get made fun of for being a goodie goodie… which taught me to answer less questions and be less of that.

Or times when I was made fun of for being chubby… which taught me to hide behind certain kinds of clothes and styles and avoid certain situations—like going to the pool or beach—where my “true” self would be on full display.

Part of growing up and maturing is recognizing these learned behaviors for what they are… innocent behaviors adopted to please others… to fit in better… to avoid being made fun of and improve social status…

…And taking actions that’ll help us realign with our true self once again.

To unlearn the behavior of suppressing emotion and learning how to feel all of it once again.

To unlearn the behavior of holding ourselves back or watering ourselves down and learning how to push ourselves to unleash our full potential once again.

To unlearn the behavior of hiding behind clothes and feeling shame about our bodies and learning how to live with less self-consciousness and more joy once again.

…What are moments from your childhood and what behaviors is it time for you to unlearn?

Sometimes, like a pendulum, when you push too hard or for too long into one area of interest you find yourself feeling this natural pull in the exact opposite direction and away from it.

This is what happened to me with personal development.

I was HEAVY into the personal development scene for years. I read all the books. I listened to all the podcasts. I went to all the seminars. Heck, I even created a personal development quote curation website.

And then, one day, I just couldn’t listen to another personal development podcast… and I started listening to music instead.

And then, on another day, I just couldn’t read another personal development book… and I read a novel instead.

And then, on yet another day, I just couldn’t spend my vacation days on another personal development seminar… and I decided to go to a music show instead.

…And you know what?

I feel like I’ve personally developed far more following the pulls of my pendulum and listening to my inner compass than I ever would’ve if I kept shoving personal development down my throat.

This isn’t to say anything negative about personal development books, podcasts, or seminars. It’s simply to say… sometimes we need to pay more attention to the personal in our continued development.

Our inner guidance knows the way. We just have to pay close enough attention and honor it.

Yesterday I mentioned a sudden interest in music… and how, at 35 I’m playing around with the idea of playing around with music.

Most people at 35—or in this general age range we’ll say—typically assume they know who they are, what they like/dislike, how they want to live their life, etc…

But, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

As I said yesterday, we are never carved from stone. We are always a river flowing towards something new.

And if you’re paying attention… you might notice some “pulls” in different directions… “pulls” that might very well be worth following…

Here’s what my “pulls” towards music looked like:

• I noticed I get triggered when music is cut without a good fade.
• I prefer to listen to music over podcasts or silence or audiobooks in all of my downtime.
• I’ve been obsessed with DJ tutorial videos and how to seamlessly (and brilliantly) transition one song to the next.
• I’ve adopted a belief (from Burning Man) that music IS the space—oftentimes more so than the space itself… and I’m acutely in tune with the energy and vibe the music being played brings (or should be bringing).
• I’ve experienced first hand the unifying power of music—and how it connects people of all races, religions, colors, creeds, or political affiliations. It is the antithesis—the antidote even—to so much of the division that is only getting worse in everyday life.

Inner Work Prompt: Reflect on the past year of your life. Have there been any “pulls” in your life that might be worth following and creating a space for?

Never forget the power you have in this moment.

As much as you might think you’re “stuck”—you’re really only a few decisions away from unstuck.

As much as you might think you’re “lost”—you’re really only a few decisions away from picking a destination and/or direction.

As much as you might think it’s “too late”—you’re really only a few decisions away from “better late than never.”

A lot of what you think and how you perceive your current situation is a result of consistent, relentless messaging—from family, school, media, work, friends, etc.

When you hear something over and over again enough—you start to believe it.

And once you start to believe it, and you hear yourself say it to you over and over again enough—you start to internalize it and take it for reality.

Today, I want you to challenge those beliefs, mute the messaging that’s reaffirming those limitations, and start telling yourself something different.

The way to undo the effects of relentless messaging is to be relentless in your counter-messaging.

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P.s. My guides can help give you a powerful jump start in the counter-messaging of your life.

Last night I saw Richard III—the Shakespearian play—performed by a crew of high school students, one of whom was a martial arts student of mine.

I was blown away.

Not only by the memorization of their lines, the acting, the setup, etc—but by the raw passion and confident expression that these 16 and 17 year olds were able to cultivate and showcase.

What really brought this home for me were the final moments after the play concluded when the organizer came on stage and gave the audience and performers an opportunity to interact.

“What words come to mind when you think about what you saw tonight?” she asked the audience.

“Confidence!” “Passionate!” “Moving!” Were some of the things the audience shouted.

“What words help define what you tried to bring to this performance tonight?” she asked the performers.

“Self Belief!” “Commitment!” “Going all in!” Were some of the things the performers responded with.

And what the organizer said was that those were called, “New Reference Points.”

Points that, once lived, become evidence-based aspects of their identity that they can reference and call back upon at any point of their life from there forward.

Because having confidence or being passionate or going all in on self-expression, for those students, were no longer abstract thoughts that linger in the back of their minds as they self-consciously worry and wonder about what other people will think of them.

…They’re real parts of their identity that were awakened, allowed to emerge from the depths, and will forever hold a space in (their) reality.

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Inner work prompt: What type of experience(s) would you try that would give you new reference points?

Most of us have two consistent spaces in our lives where we get to socialize, experiment, and express ourselves: home and either work or school.

At various times in our lives, there’s a third or fourth space that gives us a chance to further express different sides of our identity. The one that isn’t taking on the role of mother/father/brother/sister/etc or that gets to break free from the role of grade A student or model employee or strict boss. This might have been a local community center, church group, sports team, restaurant/café, shopping center, volunteer organization, etc.

And then at other times in our lives, we lose those third and fourth spaces and slowly allow ourselves to get pigeonholed back into just having two spaces. Or—especially after the pandemic and the rise of remote work—one space only.

The challenge with having only one or two spaces to express yourself and live is that it limits the range of expression of your identity.

I can tell you this first hand. When I’m at home or with my family, I take on my introvert or son/brother identity. When I’m at work, I take on my Martial Arts Instructor/Manager identity.

…But where’s the space for my shooting the crap with friends side of my identity? Or my carefree, speak my mind, unfiltered side? Or my adventurous, exploratory, instigative side?

…I need to actively seek out or create a third or fourth space to honor those sides.

Ask yourself what sides of your identity you’re not giving space to and then reverse engineer your way to a space that honors that type of expression.

…Let your identity stretch its limbs once again.