Your âInherited Identityâ vs your âChosen Identityâ
Have you ever felt like the person you are right now wasnât chosen by you? Maybe you feel like youâre just a product of your environment, culture, familyâs values, or even who your friends want you to be? I call this your âInherited Identity.â Your Inherited Identity forms when you commit to a self-concept before youâve had the information, awareness, or lived experience to truly choose it. It often develops quietly and subtly or sometimes overtly. You convince yourself that this is what you want, when itâs actually not. It starts when weâre young, but if we donât shed it, The Inherited Identity tightens its grips on us as we age. You follow a life path because itâs âfamiliar or expected.â You absorb values from family, culture, or environment without examining whether they resonate. You step into roles not because they represent your potential, but because they reduce uncertainty. This is a normal part of development, BUT itâs limiting especially when it goes unquestioned. I will say though, that the moment you realize your identity was inherited, something important happens: You regain conscious authority đ„ You start to see that who you are is something you can design. Healthy identity evolution unfolds in levels, something like this: đ Exploration - allowing yourself to try on new possible âselvesâ without pressure đ Awareness - Figuring out what is genuinely aligned from what was just adopted đ Integration - consciously choosing the identity you are becoming This is where the âChosen Identityâ emerges. A Chosen Identity simply feels very aligned. When an Identity is chosen rather than inherited or imposed, life is more enjoyable because youâre living up to your true values. You just live from fulfillment and this fulfillment no longer seems like a âpipe dreamâ. If youâre at a place where youâd like guidance shedding your Inherited Identity and navigating your Chosen Identity, I offer a 1-hour mentorship consultation where we: đ§ Identify inherited identity patterns that no longer serve you