Do You Accrue Or Shed Identities?

Happens every week—Wednesday hits, my calendar says: “write weekly email." I acknowledge, then swiftly find something more pressing to do first. Terrible habit. And it's because I don't think of myself as an actual writer anymore. 

I WAS a writer—back when National Geographic, Outside, Shape and MSNBC were calling on the regs. But that identity has been retired, shoved in the dark and lonely parts of my garage, along with my 220cm race skis I used in the 24 Hours of Aspen. 

Identities. They shift over time in lockstep with the accrual of struggle, maturity, exposure, reality, practice, participation, and observations.

But sometimes we hang on too long to an identity, elbowing out what life wants us to become. In the moment, for athletes, leaders and entrepreneurs, having one leading identity can look like focus—at all costs. And that's rewarded the world over because you're all in, right?  It's something Michael Gervais calls Identity Foreclosure—when all other identities are shuttered in service of the one most worthy identity—ie. athlete, CEO, founder of tech. 

But long term, when you're forced to change because you move into a new job, retire from your sport, become a parent, priorities shift and so do identities. If you're not prepared, your life can crumble into a heap of “who am I?” and “what was it all for?" 

Athletes suffer perhaps the most—when “all in” has been the sole reason they've topped endless podiums, so why wouldn't they shut out everything else? Because when the podiums—literal podiums and figurative if you're a leader/entrepreneur—slow to an ebb, you have to have other identities to help connect you to both other people, but also to help bolster you beyond the confines of your sport, your job, your startup. 

It's one of the main reasons the very first thing we do in The Raw Athlete program and The Raw Entrepreneur program is ask the pedestrian question of: who are you, and how do you want to be perceived? From there, we mine the steps of how you've arrived where you are, and drip feed those moments to your audience so they can feel the hug of your experience and connect deeply with your why. 

It all sounds very cozy and lovely, and sometimes it is, but it's also very practical and necessary as you graduate from just anyone out there, to someone worth paying attention to. 

Intimidated? Not sure where to start? I've got you. Snag a free session with me here, and we can dissect and reframe what your personal or business brand story is, and how to ladder that up to high-impact messages so we can get you on the road to creating your movement and your legacy, starting now.