Creating Change: Step 2C- Who Do You Want to Be?

Being Trumps Doingr
Usually when we think about what we want, we focus on an activity or experience we desire. Another way to discover your true desire is to ask yourself not what you want to be doing, but who you want to be. What are the roles in your life that you no longer want, that you’ve outwo
? And what identity is now calling you? What new you would you like to be in the world?

For clues, you may ask yourself who you have been in the past. What roles and activities have you tended to fall into that are not really you anymore? And what are the roles you have most loved in your life when you got to be that person?

In your childhood, have you liked being a helper, an inventor, a communicator, or a leader? If you think about what you’ve done throughout your life, you can find the roles that underlie those activities. It’s likely that you’ll discover patterns or unifying themes, ways in which many different activities expressed a similar role. Maybe you’ve found many ways to be helpful to others over the years, or perhaps you’ve exhibited your capacity to lead time and again in different ways.

Now ask yourself: Who do I want to be in the future? Is there a new capacity that is developing in you, one which you have not allowed yourself to fully inhabit before, that now wants your attention? Do you fantasize about certain kinds of experiences? Do you admire others who allow themselves to have, be, and do what you have not until now? Maybe you long to be more of an adventurer, or perhaps the artist in you longs for expression. Or perhaps you are finally ready to step up to the plate and be the authority you know you are but have been too shy to assert.

You are a human being, not a human doing, so who you are trumps what you do. When you define your desires in this way you will have more freedom in finding a variety of packages in which to express and live that essence of yourself. You will also be calling forth a fundamental truth of your soul-self that wants to be manifest in the world.

Every soul has a unique essence and purpose. And there are many roles to play in the world that can express that essence and purpose. To do this inquiry justice, set aside time to go into a meditative state. Let your soul guide this process.