Orient:

Identity

Discover the Light Within

academy

Answers: Who am I?

A foundational and transformative journey of self-discovery. This is about knowing who you are, what you’re capable of, and believing in yourself. It’s about knowing you’re capable of, and worth, so much more.

lesson 1

Introduction

course objectives

  • Define Identity as how I see myself and my place in the world.
  • Become aware of the story I tell myself.
  •  
  • Determine my ideal “identity clay composition” (formed from what I want for myself and what others want/need from me).
  • Create my identity statement.

personal assessments

a moment for reflection

Identity Pre-Assessment

Life is a tapestry of difference. One of the most powerful types of diversity is “diversity of thought”—an approach to life where we seek different perspectives, honor them and, where appropriate, include them in how we live life.

Note: Reflection is critical to the learning process. It taps into our Spiritual Intelligence, an inner awareness that lies below the level of consciousness (learn more). It also triggers emotions which create neurological connections, or cognitive markers that facilitate memory (learn more). Sometimes these reflection opportunities may seem silly or unnecessary. But the science shows it will increase both memory and understanding.

lesson 2

Overview

The Puzzle

Our identities are made up of many pieces. It can be difficult to see the “whole picture” of our identity from just a few pieces.

Recognizing where the pieces came from and where they fit best will help us as we build our identity.

Identity in the Orient Pillar

Identity falls under the Orient Pillar in our larger 16 Elements Model. 

Identity is how we see ourselves and our place in the world. 

lesson 3

The Stories We Tell

Play-Doh and Identity

Play-Doh can be a great metaphor to help us understand Identity. 

We focus on the entire journey rather than each footstep; and we actively reshape or replace the lens in our field glasses to refocus our life. 

The Shaping of Identity

Three components that make up our identities are: ourselves, our families, and our communities. 

We have the opportunity to choose how much or how little of each gets added to the mix as we form the identity we desire.

personal assessments

a moment for reflection

My Unique Identity Mix

Reflect on the sources of your Identity and your unique mix. Answer the following questions.

Note: Reflection is critical to the learning process. It taps into our Spiritual Intelligence, an inner awareness that lies below the level of consciousness (learn more). It also triggers emotions which create neurological connections, or cognitive markers that facilitate memory (learn more). Sometimes these reflection opportunities may seem silly or unnecessary. But the science shows it will increase both memory and understanding.

The Story I Tell Myself

Our Identities are too often shaped out of unexamined and unchallenged Perspectives. 

We have the power to create our own narrative around our identity.

lesson 4

Five Monkeys

The Five Monkeys and the Mischievous Zookeeper

The fable of the Five Monkeys and the Mischievous Zookeeper can help us better understand how our identities can be influenced 

and shaped by others, our circumstances, and the world around us. Consider the narrative the monkeys form in the story.

The Moral of The Five Monkeys and the Mischievous Zookeeper

We all construct stories and narrative around our identities. Often times these stories are not true. 

If we are not deliberate about our identities, they will be formed by whatever the world tells us we need to be.

lesson 5

Identity Builder

Identity Anchors

One way to be deliberate about our identity is by creating an Identity statement. 

Doing so will ensure we are aligned with our Journey to Purpose.

Critical and Focal Contexts

Anything we deem “critical” to our Identity and helping us along our Journey to Purpose is a Critical Context. 

Critical Contexts can be roles, values, or areas of focus. A Focal Context is the Critical Context you are currently focusing on.

personal assessments

a moment for reflection

Identity Builder Critical Contexts

Using prefacing phrases like “I am…”; “I care about…”; “I am good at…”; “I can offer help by…” are ways to start thinking about how you describe yourself. For example, “I am a hard worker“; “I care about the environment“; “I am good at repairing machinery“; “I can offer help by serving the poor.”

Note: Reflection is critical to the learning process. It taps into our Spiritual Intelligence, an inner awareness that lies below the level of consciousness (learn more). It also triggers emotions which create neurological connections, or cognitive markers that facilitate memory (learn more). Sometimes these reflection opportunities may seem silly or unnecessary. But the science shows it will increase both memory and understanding.

Defining Attributes

An important part of building our Identity is discovering our defining attributes. 

Writing our Critical Contexts can help us determine what those attributes are.

personal assessments

a moment for reflection

Identity Builder Defining Attributes

Reflect and capture.

Note: Reflection is critical to the learning process. It taps into our Spiritual Intelligence, an inner awareness that lies below the level of consciousness (learn more). It also triggers emotions which create neurological connections, or cognitive markers that facilitate memory (learn more). Sometimes these reflection opportunities may seem silly or unnecessary. But the science shows it will increase both memory and understanding.

Strength Anchors

Identifying our strengths is another important part of building our identities. 

As we focus on our strengths rather than our weaknesses, we will be able to achieve excellence.

personal assessments

a moment for reflection

Identity Builder Core Competencies

Reflect and capture. Core competencies are strengths that we can leverage.

Note: Reflection is critical to the learning process. It taps into our Spiritual Intelligence, an inner awareness that lies below the level of consciousness (learn more). It also triggers emotions which create neurological connections, or cognitive markers that facilitate memory (learn more). Sometimes these reflection opportunities may seem silly or unnecessary. But the science shows it will increase both memory and understanding.

personal assessments

a moment for reflection

The Identity Statement

Our Critical Contexts, Defining Attributes, and Core Competencies help us to create our Identity Statement. Using these pieces to form an Identity Statement helps us to define and magnify our strengths.

Note: Reflection is critical to the learning process. It taps into our Spiritual Intelligence, an inner awareness that lies below the level of consciousness (learn more). It also triggers emotions which create neurological connections, or cognitive markers that facilitate memory (learn more). Sometimes these reflection opportunities may seem silly or unnecessary. But the science shows it will increase both memory and understanding.

lesson 6

Conclusion

Intentional Identity

There are many contributing factors to our Identity. 

Building our Identity Statement can help us focus inward and be intentional about who we will become.

personal assessments

a moment for reflection

Intentional Identity

Our Identity and the Statement we use to describe it come from many sources—some we’re aware of, some not so much. Common sources of identity are our family, community and self. All of these sources tell us who we are, what we should do with our lives, what we’re good at, and where we struggle. It’s healthy to consider their input, and then decide what to keep and what to ignore or discard as you build your identity.

Note: Reflection is critical to the learning process. It taps into our Spiritual Intelligence, an inner awareness that lies below the level of consciousness (learn more). It also triggers emotions which create neurological connections, or cognitive markers that facilitate memory (learn more). Sometimes these reflection opportunities may seem silly or unnecessary. But the science shows it will increase both memory and understanding.

A Foundational Commitment

Identifying our strengths is another important part of building our identities. 

As we focus on our strengths rather than our weaknesses, we will be able to achieve excellence.

Course

Completion

[button_course_complete id="47202"]

Additional resources

Related Tools

Purpose
Finder

Discover your purpose and find direction in life.
Read More

Related courses

Responses

Report

Harassment or bullying behavior
Contains mature or sensitive content
Contains misleading or false information
Contains abusive or derogatory content
Contains spam, fake content or potential malware

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

  • See blocked member's posts
  • Mention this member in posts
  • Invite this member to groups
  • Message this member
  • Add this member as a connection

Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

Report

You have already reported this .

free assessment

Sign up for free, and take your personality assessment today. No credit card required.

Name(Required)
Create a Password(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FREE ASSESSMENT

Sign up for free, and take your personality assessment today. No credit card required.

Name(Required)
Create a Password(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.