Two of the most powerful words to be spoken to ourselves. They give a sense of anticipation. They can be the starting block to build up or to knock down.
The ‘I’ gives us responsibility, the ‘am’ gives us ownership. Together, they can form identity. Our identity.
Take a moment to finish the sentence ‘I am …’.
The first time I ever did this exercise I kept it safe, I was in a lecture after all. ‘I am female’. ‘I am a parent’. ‘I am married’. ‘I am a student’. I was quite proud of myself when I came up with ‘I am tired’. Most of the class came up with ‘I am a student’ so the lecturer challenged us. She said, ‘how much of you is a student?’ The response of blank looks was chased by another question ‘what attributes do you present which make you a student?’ Then ‘what does being a student tell me about who you are at your core?’. From those two simple words, we can be unraveled. Layer upon layer gently peeled back to explore what our safe ‘I am …’ truly means. What identity it truly gives us.
It is so easy for us to lose our identities within the chaos of life. Sometimes we get stuck in one identity and start believing that’s all there is to us. Then there are times where it feels as though an aspect of our identity is stripped away and we feel lost without it. Some aspects of our identity are flung on us, words spoken over and over until we believe it, others sneak up on us without warning and the realisation can be startling. It doesn’t matter how young or how old you are, knowing who we are and what our place is in the world can be life altering.
If you need help finishing the ‘I am …’ statement feel free to contact me. Together we can look for the end of the sentence. Together we can explore what that identity means for you. And together, we can find how to stand in that identity and know what makes you, you.
