For an episode on rewriting your identity, it felt only natural to bring on a guest whose own identity journey has been openly, courageously and creatively captured through writing and speaking over the last few years.
Douglas Humphries, writer, blogger, voice actor, and facilitator of #createlounge, shares his wisdom around how to tackle some of those big life questions that seem to come up in these formative adult years (and beyond), like “Who am I?” “What am I supposed to be doing with my life?” and “How do I want to spend my time?” and shares some of his journey of how his own identity has changed from a “good, responsible kid” to a somewhat rebellious risk-taker and is continually evolving over time.
In this episode, we talk about:
Defining the word “identity” and what shapes itHow changing our environment can be indicative of a change in our identitiesRealizing that you can change your identity and that you have so many more options than you can imagineRenegotiating inherited identity traits and deciding what really matters to youMoments that spark those big life questionsQuestioning our systems and beliefs and showing self-compassion and grace for the shame around old beliefs we are choosing to let go ofReconciling who we thought we would be with the person we really arePermission to explore opportunities and choices without it immediately defining youHow others relate to the new iteration of who you areHow our creative journeys reflected our changing identitiesThe “Reluctant Rebels” Club for polite, highly-intuitive risk-taskers ;)Resources for uncovering our personal identitiesBeing inspired by others, but being careful about adopting beliefs and values that aren’t actually ours“We have this fear that if we start to question things, everything will fall apart. But really good systems and belief can stand being questioned. It’s the ‘bad’ ones that you don’t want to question because you know they’ll fall apart.” - Douglas Humphries
“We may not know why right now we’re doing the thing we’re doing, but later on you’ll know exactly why. You have to trust that you already are planting the seeds for that future.” - Marissa Burdett
For show notes, quotes from the episode, links, and information on the guest, visit permissiontopivot.com.