Firstly, I hope you have all had an enjoyable festive period whatever this means for you! It’s been particularly busy here at Sigmoid and you might have noticed that I’ve fallen a little behind on my blog writing however, one of my new year’s resolutions is to make the blogs a priority. Writing the blog is a chance for us to have the equivalent of a casual chat, to talk about difficult and serious topics in a more relaxed environment. So let's start where we left off…with the Identity element of CHIME.
Identity is quite a crucial topic at this time of year, especially following the events of the last few years. Many of us, myself included, have found ourselves working very hard to just to keep breathing in and out for a while. We’ve been unable at times to do the things that contribute to our personal identity, it’s been difficult to meet with family and to do the things that bring us a positive sense of identity and define us at our core. But with a new year comes a fresh start and a great opportunity to think about the person you want to become this year. Maybe you’ve lost touch with the things you’re good at or maybe you just want to broaden your horizons and add a few more strings to your bow. Harley Therapy use a nice little metaphor in their blog which I think sums up the importance of self-identity rather well, "Imagine that your life is a sea and you are swimming along. All fine, if the sun is out and the water is smooth. Then say the wind picks up and the water gets choppy. A strong sense of self is like a moored raft you can grab onto until the storm passes and you feel ready to swim again."
There are many different ways to improve your Identity score and arguably, developing a strong sense of self encompasses most of them, but you may be thinking well that’s easier said (or typed!) than done. However, the practice of strengthening our sense of self is less daunting than it initially seems! Put simply, don’t force a square peg in a round hole! Recognise your strengths and play to them but equally set yourself boundaries and stick to them.
The cross over between the New Years resolutions and goals you’ve set yourself for 2022 and improving self identity are likely to be huge. For example, joining the gym to lose the extra few festive pounds and get fit is also contributing to viewing yourself as a happy, healthy person when you look in the mirror. Downloading a handy app to teach yourself some Spanish in the hopes of ever going on holiday again contributes to seeing yourself as an intelligent and diverse individual. The point is the that the goals and resolutions we set ourselves are inextricably linked to becoming the best version of ourselves and in that, developing our sense of self to a point where we know who we are, where we’ve come from and admire the person that we’re becoming.
I’ve included the link below to a Gentwenty blog written by a psychologist detailing her top 8 tips to developing a stronger sense of self….why not have a read and pick 3 things to consciously focus on for the next few weeks? Then check in and see if you feel better about yourself!
https://gentwenty.com/how-to-develop-a-strong-sense-of-self/
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/i-dont-know-who-i-am-establishing-your-sense-of-self-1205165