How do you reach your full potential? – Part Three: Personhood
Everyone has a personhood; an identity they see themselves and the world around them. Identity motivates, creates, reveals who we are, and equally importantly, infuses with those that we influence; those we love and lead.
In saying that, people try to find their identity in more than one thing during this lifetime... Here is what I have found:
Success – some people are motivated by sheer success. Now, you have to define what success is to you, but the world we live in defines success by having MORE. More influence, more money, more power… more, more, and much more! However, this identity is vicariously unfulfilling. You have probably heard the phrase: “what goes up must comes down.” Just like success…
Status – some people are motivated by who they know. They believe getting ahead is about being around the right people. This is true… but finding identity in whatever other people think is a hard battle to win. From experience, you and I will NEVER be able to please everyone. Trying to find you through others is a hard life to live. This not only happens in the professional world but our private worlds as well. We try to find identity through family, friends, or even our mate. These people are contributors to identity but cannot give you the whole…
Stash – now… everyone wants to have a BIGGER and FATTER wallet… but again, identity is not found in cash. We have seen the reality of a great recession around the world the last couple of years that truly show that the economy is not reliable for self-worth. Now, people will always look at how fancy your car is or how much square footage you have in your home, but, identity in stash will end in a crash…
Surrender – this might sound strange to you but hear me out. Most of us try to find identity through success, status, and/or stash, but once you surrender those futile ways, you are free and able to find identity… You are able not to be burdened by those things. I think those things are byproducts of truly finding ourselves.
So… we have to ask ourselves, “Where are you finding your identity,” and “how are you GROWING in your identity?”
The Corinth community was going through an identity crisis as much as you and I are experiencing today. They determined identity by success, status, and stashes rather than surrendering to an identity that lasts forever. Paul, in encouragement stated to the Corinth people: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17.
In the same way, I hope that this is an encouragement to you today.