Identity urgency - The Art of Losing Ourselves
"God has given you one face and you make yourself another." - William Shakespeare
There is so much truth in the words of William Shakespeare, but many of us fail to identify it or rather neglect it. It is no hyperbole that very few population on the earth stand for who they are.
When we hear the word crisis, we can present it to many known measurable incidence like Food Crisis, Water Crisis, Fuel Crisis, and Economic urgency - many of them are shaking mankind from its deepest roots. But one urgency that is neither measurable nor understandable and having an follow of slow poison is Identity Crisis.
What is Identity Crisis? It is a man (includes the female gender too) losing his own self to become someone who he is not, and in that process, be in the middle of an ocean from where he can go nowhere.
Identity urgency is deadlier than most of the other crises because of the estimate of facets it has. It engulfs mankind in many forms and at varied stages, which affects a kid and a Ceo of a enterprise alike.
It all starts with parenting. Parents play a big role in holding a child's identity intact. Very often we hear mothers lulling their children by words like "If you eat this... You will become like a hero/ heroine." dinky does the child know what his time to come is and he lives in the trance of a someone who he admires. Only when he sees the tough reality, he understands that his miserable dreams are broken. Why don't parents urge their children to be themselves and make him comprehend what he is?
There is a craze to become a Sachin Tendulkar or a Michel Jackson among kids and teens. They do everything, well almost everything, to emulate their heroes and heroines. Idol worship has become a state-of-art fanfare. But, comprehend there can only be one Sachin or Mj. Imitations are still imitations. They have stamped their authority in their respective fields by dancing to their own tunes and not to somebody else's. One can have them as models, but cannot be them. Many population are confused by the words, 'following the foot steps', and relates it to becoming the model himself in future. This idea is expanding in an alarming rate.
We all know human brain is one of the unsolved puzzles in the world. It is believed that every person has a brain that functions faster than most of the super computers. How much of its possible do we put to use in our daily life? Why do we want to live with the help of other's brains and their life and let ours go fishing (or may be something else - like On Bench in an It industry)?
We always think of role models and we feel proud of having them and we even fight to defend them as if they are our own property. How many of us aspire to become role-models? I don't remember hearing anyone saying he want to be a role-model.
A girl losing her identity after marriage is something we have witnessed, especially in India. Though the scenario is changing today, it has been a girl's destiny to lose her identity. They are the immediate victims of Identity Crisis, by force.
Even at work place we see the identities being lost. population want to become what they are not. There is nothing wrong in aspiring to become like someone, but, there is a thin line of contrast in the middle of becoming someone-being-oneself and the losing oneself. The human ego also plays a role in many cases. Presenting our own points on the table is not rude but is a virtue. But, today this ability is seen only after achieving a level of leadership. It is not uncommon to see talented population wearing out of horizon just because they do not back themselves. We live on our idiosyncrasies and we should back them up by believing in and standing for ourselves, for no one else will stand for us in this complete world.
We have many sportsmen losing their identity in order to be who they are not. Cricketers are the most base examples. The entertaining case of Irfan Pathan is a living example. He was notable for his swing bowling when he came in, which really brought him success and name. But, in the process of becoming an all-rounder, he is now, not an all-rounder and not a bowler that he was. This is an experiment that went wrong and may be, at the cost of a career.
God has sent us with brains and never asked to rent someone else's. Perhaps that would have made his work easier. He gave all of us a amazing piece of mass and asked to make use of it. Our destiny is dissimilar from someone else. Or is it a curse that we have blindly proper to see the world straight through someone else's eyes? Having our own vantage point about who we are and what we stand unto, in my view, is of notable importance. In my opinion, maintaining our own identity is none the less than maintaining the sanctity of the human body. This doesn't mean we should be paranoid about it, just that we should make our proximity felt in this world.
The world will not turn upside down nor will the Sun rise in the west if we lose our identity. But when we die, we may comprehend we have lived as someone we never wanted to be.
Can we do something to prevent this? At least, sell out the intensity? Yes. Few actions can be:
1. Providing relaxation to children and help them to build a strong personality
2. Encourage to wake up the reasoning side of a person.
3. Spending time with oneself and performing introspection.
"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are". The only inquire is do You have the guts to be true to yourselves? I am stopping here, letting you to figure it out.
Identity accident - Check Who You Are
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