Comments on: What You Are vs. Who You Are

By: dcr

dcr — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 05:29:49 +0000

Thanks everyone! And what thoughtful comments you all had on this one. Great insights!

By: SF Girl

SF Girl — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 03:00:09 +0000

Very well put, DCR! If you limit your actions to what you “are” then you will never realize your dreams, and never “become”. Movement can only happen when one decides to be more than one is (or perceives oneself to be). As Ghandi said, Change is the essence of life.Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.” He also said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

By: doug m

doug m — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:53:21 +0000

too many people now a days are worried about what other people think. we’ve all been through high school and we’ve all gotten our fair share of wedgies, beatings, and name calling. but once you’re out of high school you realize that it was a very small portion of life that simply began to sculpt who you are to become. if you realize that you are only limited by yourself, and that you are your own worst critic, then you’ll see that it doesn’t matter what other people think about you, but what you think about yourself.

By: Daniel Nordstrom

Daniel Nordstrom — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 14:11:20 +0000

Interesting how the unwritten rules of society controls most people. They walk around with a preset of definitions that has been planted into their minds from the time of their birth throughout their entire childhood. And by who? People that, just like themselves, have thought about QUESTIONING things.

Quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger: “The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that.”

Now that’s a better mentality. A long time ago, he lived in Europe and told everyone “I’m gonna be the strongest man in the world. I’m gonna be rich in America. I’m gonna be the Number One Box Office star in the world.”. That’s what he said and look where he is now. Furthermore, I think we should all follow Timothy Leary’s advice:

“Think for yourself and question authority.”

By: Joanne

Joanne — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:38:26 +0000

I also feel that Thoreau quote (“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”) reflects how there’s such a drive in our culture to be what’s deemed acceptable or successful. It causes everyone to strive to be the same. The mass, where one feels a lost of individuality. Hell, if I couldn’t separate myself from the masses, to feel like an unique individual and my own person instead of “like anyone else”…I’d start to feel rather desperate.

By: David

David — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 05:45:37 +0000

What an informative post this is. Too often we fail to acknowledge the inner part of ourselves because of our occupation. Assumption is the path to disaster. You may be a hen in the ground for now but one day you may rise as a phoenix and soar through the skies. The moment we stop dreaming, we stop striving.

By: Lewis Empire

Lewis Empire — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 05:43:36 +0000

It’s a sad fact that people are defined by their jobs. I’ve read in a few places that people should take positions, not for what the salary is, but for the skills that you can learn from the job. In that sense, you should be defined by what you’ve learned and by the amount you’ve grown.

I think that too often people also define themselves based on their life circumstances. ie. I’m a father or mother. They also don’t define themselves on things they love, rather they do it on things that are not emberassing to their friends/family. Take for example a new artist. Should they not consider themselves to be an artist even though they currently have limited talent? They are more likely to define themselves as an accountant than an artist in this society.

There’s my 2 cents. Great post again.