Self identity

"Don't base your identity solely on your work," were the words that echoed in my head in the middle of the night.

During my years of delving into well-being, I've participated in a fair number of (woo-woo) courses, including some on sleep and dreams. Being a lucid dreamer, I naturally wanted to learn more about it.

One practice that has stuck with me is to ask my subconscious to solve a problem during my sleep. It's something that sleep naturally does. The key is to still remember the answer in the morning.

Mostly, what comes out is a whole load of jumbled and cryptic B-roll, which is why last night was surprisingly simple.

I've been a bit stuck with the direction of my business lately. I have too many ideas and directions that I could take, so I was asking for help to gain some clarity.

"Don't base your identity solely on your work" was the answer.

When I got up this morning, I realised how poignant it was.

It was a reminder that, once again, I'm getting my self-worth too tied up with the work that I do. I already played that game as a designer. It's a no-go zone for me.

This is especially relevant when it comes to burnout. It can fully shatter your self-esteem and identity, especially if you get to the last stage where you physically can't work anymore.

Imagine being a writer who can't get a word onto the paper. Who are you then?

There is so much more to our identity that exists outside of work. It just gets forgotten because we don't get paid for it.

And when we start getting to the chronic state of stress, we begin giving up on that 'everything else' because work takes all of the available energy.

So, I'm having to loosen my grip a bit. I need to spend more time doing the other things I'm passionate about. And from this, the answers to my work will follow as well.