Who are you?
Who are you?
When someone asks this question, it’s easy to fall back on the obvious. . .
- where you’re from
- what you do for a living
- if you’re married or single
You know, the usual suspects.
But you also know how utterly inadequate (and often boring) those answers are.
You do know that, right?
Some people say they’re the sum of all their experiences in the past. They have long, drawn out stories of why they are the way they are.
Others, thinking they’re clever, declare adamantly “No! I’m better than my past because I’ll never be like my mother/father/that/them!” but that just makes their future a reaction to the past.
Which leads us back to the beginning.
Who are you really?
And what if that answer was generative instead of related to the past?
gen·er·a·tive
:: capable of producing or creating
In the moment, you can create who you are.
That doesn’t mean you make it up or lie; just that you consciously choose who you say you are.
Your DNA gave you form.
Your words create your world.
They create the WHO of you.
I am. . .
first-born * Aries * prairie girl * ocean lover * Mediterranean * creator * listener * lover * ass-kicker * Fire Starter * wife * daughter * sister * BFF * smart * playful * passionate * writer * coach * instigator * blogger * book lover * pescatarian * extrovert * a collision waiting to happen * spark to your flame * leader * photographer * muse * gypsy spirit * cage rattler
I am all that. . .and more.
Because even that juicy list of descriptors doesn’t cover the gift that is me.
It does tell you a helluva lot more than the facts though:
Born in Winnipeg, live in Vancouver, professional life coach, married to a great guy.
Nothing wrong with those facts. They’re just a little dry.
Mostly, you haven’t got a clue who you are.
You fall back on old, familiar stories from the past. It’s easy, you don’t have to think about it, everyone does it. I get it.
But imagine playing with it a bit.
And the next time someone asks, “Who are you?” you smile so big before responding. . .
I’m a gift, who are you?
* Cue dazed, wide-eyed look of bemusement.
Sounds ridiculous, but trust me, it engages people in ways the facts will never do.
My personal favourite is “I’m a collision waiting to happen” and then I have a blast explaining what that means to me.
I unwrap the gift and share my passion, my zest for life, my joy.
Because really, joy trumps fact every time.
I never had any doubt that you would kick this one’s butt.
Thanks for that Jason, it was actually harder than I thought it would be! Almost switched over to the other prompt, but I’m kind of glad I stuck it out 🙂
I never had any doubt that you would kick this one’s butt.
Love where you took this… and love the answers you give at the end. We are all gifts, all waiting to collide with each other…yes.
I love the idea of creating who we are, instead of just listing off the dry facts. Love this answer!
Thanks Amanda! “just the facts” was good for that old cop show, but not good enough for me 🙂
you forgot to add the word “awesome”. You are awesome.
Hi Sandi. Nice post. Part of it to is assuming that the person who asked actually wants to listen. The answer is not just on automatic pilot, but sadly, so is the question. It would be great if we could dive into the real “who we ares” without having the other person start to check their iPhone for email :). It’s a great idea to really be able to express ourselves daily (since everyday is different) and really check in to see what’s going on and who we are rather than just the standart answer. Thanks
Oh my Craig, that’s a whole other ball game you’re talking about there! Definitely a part two 🙂
We are a sum of our past and yet we can transcend it…
How come we never met? We seem to have run in the same Vancouver circles.
you ARE a gift. i would SO love it if someone said that to me – it would be playtime. LOVE this!!
and by the way, i had to laugh. when posting my previous comment, the little box that asks me my name, etc., came up, and yep, right there in the corner, it says “before we post this, who are you?” 🙂
Haha, that’s so great and so perfect!!! The Universe really does have a sense of humour!
this reminds me of the Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland…. whooo are YOU* … as important as ever!
Great post! And then you ask who I am? Well….
I am the universe.
And so are you.
Can you imagine the constellations that will sparkle to life when we collide?
Hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~
When you and I truly get that we are the Universe all kinds of magic will occur 🙂
I am just me. I am a girl who gets ridiculously excited about planting veggies, a photo shoot w/ her best guy, a wise woman kicking the lizard brain since 1982, a dancer, a brilliant lover, poetic muse, unfabulous blogger. Hard of hearing, deeply compassionate, fiercely adventurous, and overly flexible in the heart. Goofy, scared, and often confused. Where-did-all-my-time-go? Why-did-my-brain-quit-working?
You know–the usual. 🙂
I love how excited you get about veggies and things! It is what makes you YOU in such a unique way. xoS
I have a 1-2 hour talk and workshop which centres round this very question! As much as possible I have stopped saying I am Jackie, I’m not, I’m more than that, that’s just the name I’m known by, another label if you like, albeit a really useful one, I admit!
Who Am I? I’m Faith, Grace, Hope and Joy … lovely ladies each and everyone of them!
Names and labels, we’re given so many throughout our lives. And yet, it’s when we name ourselves that we are most powerful.
Great minds think alike, Sandi! Here’s a post I wrote recently. http://www.starpolisher.com/the-total-who-of-you/ Want to get totally freaked out? Sit down with a couple of people you don’t really know and have them tell you who they see when they look at you. You might just discover that the who of you includes a couple of things you didn’t know and a part of you that you thought you weren’t allowed to be. That’s what just happened to me, and I think it’s going to change my life if I let it.
I would like to add “cage rattler” to the Who of Sandi. “Blessed are the cage rattlers, for they set us free.” Alan Cohen
Well, phooey. Disqus decided to shorten the link to my blog post. So you can’t see that it’s title is The Total Who of You, which was the whole point of including it since it was a similar title and subject matter to this post. Stop editing me, Disqus! 🙁
I have done that exercise Carol and agree, it IS freaky when a stranger sees who you really are!
I remember your post now but when I came up with the title I think I was thinking of Dr. Seuss 😉
You mean Dr. Seuss stole from you and me? He has his nerve! LOL
Whoa. That sounds simultaneously terrifying and awesome.
It’s actually quite astonishing! I’ve done that exercise a few times in various courses and I’m always surprised at what people see in each other. Mind-blowing in the best possible way!
Just added cage rattler to my list Carol!
Agreed – joy trumps facts every time.
🙂
Lori
Every. Single. Time.
xo
This is perfect. We have a say and we have control over who we are and who we can become. Thank you for the reminder, Sandi, I certainly needed it.
A core belief of my work is that you get to say how it goes (and who you are). That one belief changes everything!
Ooooh man! How cool. I wanna play.
I Am… little big brother :: first-born son :: Ambassador of Freedom :: sacred sound explorer :: freedom blogger :: earthwalker :: text-book Aquarius, lol :: progressive :: humanist :: cloud watcher :: star & planet gazer :: master of quinoa :: homemade popcorn lover :: lord of the spontaneous corny dance :: drawn to the open road :: soul brother :: and the best thing that can be said about me is that I’m a work in progress.
That was fun 🙂
Reading who you are just sent shivers of joy down my spine!
And Daniel’s list was very intriguing. For example, does he teach others how to master quinoa? I could use that kind of help! 🙂
Beautiful.
I have a problem filling out the bios for my profiles on various social media sites, because the question always seem to want to pigeon hole you. We get so stuck in our titles and roles that sometimes we forget that we are so much more than that. Because yes, I am a Mother, a Wife, a Sister a, Bookkeeper, an Entrepreneur (these seem to be the answers that most people understand), but it doesn’t really tell you that I am so much more than any of those one things. I am so much more . . . SOOOO much more.
Since the usual words don’t say much, I say get creative 🙂
I am laughter, I am carbonated holiness. I am salty rivers down my face. I am caretaker. I am a ridiculously gifted lover. I am… I AM!
Carbonated holiness might be my new favourite phrase! Thank you for sharing Julie 🙂
That’s why when I meet new people, I ask things like “what adventures have you had lately?” or “tell me what you’re passionate about? …what gets you out of bed in the morning?” instead of “where are you from?”, “what do you do for work?”… dry… boring.
@EagerExistence Oh so boring. I’ve been known to say outrageous things when people ask, “What do you do?” I just want to shake things up and get to the good stuff 🙂
@EagerExistence Oh so boring. I’ve been known to say outrageous things when people ask, “What do you do?” I just want to shake things up and get to the good stuff 🙂
It’s amazing how important it is to be mindful of what we put after the words “I Am”!
I really enjoyed Wayne Dyer’s latest PBS special (“Wishes Fulfilled”) where he talks about the I Am and how potent it is.
I did a months-long personal development program called Pathways years ago, and one of its main components was making a contract with yourself stating what you are. There’s a lot you go through to get to it, and it touches on all the insecurities about the things you’re afraid you’re NOT. It’s a powerful process. In the end what I ended up with was “I am an unstoppable, passionate, fun, beautiful woman.” I still like it!
@LynnHess Unstoppable is one of my favourite descriptors Lynn! And I love your “I AM” statement!!!
I LOVE this post. For years I was the one who was not going to be like my mother. A few years ago I decided I was going to be whoever I want to be, so I’ve been loving out loud and give where I please. I really like the “I’m a gift” line. I’ll have to try that one sometime.
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