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Are you the kind of person you want to be?

23 replies

IamBear · 26/11/2020 13:25

Do you have a strong sense of your identity and are you happy with it?

Has anyone ever successfully changed their identity / personality?

OP posts:
BearSoFair · 26/11/2020 13:28

God no. I want to be sure of myself and confident in my decisions...in truth I overthink everything and spend the majority of my time stressing over decisions I've either already made or need to make!

JoJoSM2 · 26/11/2020 14:12

I’m not sure you can change your personality but you can certainly work on and improve certain things like confidence.

IamBear · 26/11/2020 14:40

I just don't feel like I have an identity at the moment - I would at least like to be like "Woah, this is IAMBEAR and this is what I am good/poor at, interested in etc."

OP posts:
Lostthetastefordahlias · 26/11/2020 14:53

How would you describe yourself to us then? Could you not tell us any personality traits at all? Can you identify things you would like to change? Not trying to be provocative - it sounds like you’re not giving yourself enough credit?
I am sure other people in your life have an appreciation of your good traits or some idea of your personality - what would they say?

Mylittlesandwich · 26/11/2020 15:07

I am/have floundered this year. I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself now though. I became a mum last November and that changed a lot about me, I then had a spell of very poor mental health. Now that that is being addressed I feel like I'm becoming "me" again if that makes sense. I'd like more confidence and better self control but those things don't come overnight.

IamBear · 26/11/2020 15:20

Lazy, demotivated, unfocused, friendly (as in polite), shy (as in not overtly friendly), anxious.

People would definitely say I am friendly and (too) caring though...

I have a mental health problem which wreaks havoc with identity / self image. I guess i am trying to figure out is if I can change it my actively working towards it?

OP posts:
Pickypolly · 26/11/2020 15:25

Pretty much yes.

Some days more than others.

DeeandraReynolds · 26/11/2020 15:27

Sorry to read this op. I have felt a bit like this in the past.

I've had a shitter of a few years with one thing and another, but also some lovely stuff, for which I am grateful. I have stopped caring so much what people think.

I was a BIG people pleaser and would get extremely anxious if even got a hint that someone might not like me. Then, I was trying to stay neutral in a situation not to do with me and one of the people took everything out on me. It pushed me to the edge, but I stopped blaming myself and got really angry. I have cut a lot of people out of my life. I feel so, SO much better. My self worth was on the floor before and really only bolstered up by other people liking me. I don't want to make them to like me anymore. I want them to fuck off if they don't.

I don't know what MH condition you are suffering from, so I wouldn't presume to advise, but this really helped me with my people pleasing ways! Hope it is in some way helpful.

Lazysundayafternoons · 26/11/2020 15:28

@IamBear

Lazy, demotivated, unfocused, friendly (as in polite), shy (as in not overtly friendly), anxious.

People would definitely say I am friendly and (too) caring though...

I have a mental health problem which wreaks havoc with identity / self image. I guess i am trying to figure out is if I can change it my actively working towards it?

Same OP with the MH issue. When I was on ads late last year/early this year I had much more confidence and much less self doubt. Now I'm off the ads and feeling worse than ever about myself.
Milkshake7489 · 26/11/2020 15:32

It depends on my mental health. On good days I have a good 'sense of self' and am (on balance) happy with who I am.

On a bad day I can struggle to see myself in a positive light and can find it difficult to see beyond my symptoms.

Luckily, my good days outweigh my bad days.

If you're struggling, please be kind to yourself. Maybe ask someone you trust to describe how they see you and make a list of your positive attributes to see you through tough times.

AIMD · 26/11/2020 15:37

I have quite low self esteem so that affects my sense of identity. No idea how I’d describe my self to others.

I would like to be less of a people pleasure and more confident. I think I can change that a little but part of me will always be a people pleaser.

Aloeverable · 26/11/2020 15:39

i too am lazy (but not work shy), demotivated, unfocused, anxious and shy.

but i am not naturally friendly, caring and empathetic and am trying hard to change those, ever since i had DC. this has to do with my upbringing. anyway, I have actually succeeded in little things like initiating more small talk, being less 'mercenary' with my kids and at work etc. My DC, being still at the innocent age, have been life changing because i see the way they don't hold back on emotions etc. However i'm never going to be the warm, maternalistic, community-spirited person who bothers with the little things, who in my head is the person I'd like to be.

If you're friendly and caring - I aspire to be you. Those can only be very positive characteristics, surely. Are you feeling a bit used or downtrodden by not-so-nice people or people like myself, who deal with the world differently and don't mean to come across as uncaring?

ColourMeGreen · 26/11/2020 16:09

I'm sorry to hear you're feeling that way OP, I know it all too well. I had a rough childhood where I was essentially property, rather than given any independence to discover myself.

As a teenager almost my entire personality was built on being a victim, and feeling entitled to special treatment because of that. Lots of tantrums, lots of people hurt, no real awareness of myself or the damage I caused at all.

I suffered awfully with mental health issues for years, and then, eventually, I had the mother of all breakdowns. On reflection I think it was more of a breakthrough. For a period of around a year or two, I completely lost myself, or maybe got lost within myself. I was nothing. Not happy nor sad, not enthused or unmotivated, just nothing. Complete autopilot, a robot in the truest sense. No descriptive word was something I could relate to myself in any way, it was all just noise.

And then slowly, I became able to organise the noise. I knew wholeheartedly what I didn't want to be, and stopped convincing myself I was those things. We can truly be our own worst enemy. I started to accept the things I was, neutral as well as good and bad, and made efforts to balance the scales before tipping them to the 'good side'.

I thought religiously about whether I'd want to meet myself, and adjusted my thoughts and behaviours as necessary to achieve that.

I'm not all the way there by any means, but I've achieved my initial goals and moved on to new ones a few times over.

I feel content most of the time, I feel aware of myself, I feel in control of my emotions and how I handle them, I feel confident and sure of myself in everything I choose to do, and in most things I have to do. By contrast of feeling nothing at all, I now feel human, and that has been worth every second of pushing myself.

It wasn't easy by any stretch, but I now feel capable of looking after myself and no longer rely on others to do so, meaning I enjoy it all the more if someone chooses to.

I do have to give credit to a wonderful ex partner whose gentle and persistent approach played a huge part in my acceptance that I wasn't an inherently bad person, and that my 'bad' thoughts didn't define my being.

About a year ago I met someone I'd last known a decade prior, and they said they'd never have believed the difference had they not seen it for themself. That was affirming, but the real tell for me was that I didn't seek or crave the extra validation that someone else could see my progress, because I knew I could. That was the first time I realised I had made progress I was proud of.

I wouldn't say my personality has changed, there are core parts of me which have existed throughout, but I would say that it has developed or evolved. I organise and present myself differently, but I'm the same person I always was.

CorianderQueen · 26/11/2020 16:18

I'm mostly happy with who I am. I would make myself less lazy and more motivated to exercise and work harder but looking at my core self yes, I like me.

CorianderQueen · 26/11/2020 16:19

There have been times in the past where I very much disliked me though - usually after doing something which made me feel ashamed

Nicolastuffedone · 26/11/2020 16:21

Yup. I’m fine with being me

Clevererthanyou · 26/11/2020 16:24

Physically, no (but who is?) Mentally, emotionally, morally, spiritually - 100% fucking yes. I'm 32 though and only in the last few years have I fully realised and accepted who and what I am.

haircutsRus · 26/11/2020 16:29

I am lazier than I would like, but I can't be bothered to do anything about it. Grin Seriously though, I wish that I had more in the way of motivation.

I'm also a bit of a perfectionist, and get irritated by minor nuisances, which means I'm irritated most of the time. I do try to stifle that as much as possible though.

User258544 · 26/11/2020 17:40

Lazy, demotivated, unfocused, friendly (as in polite), shy (as in not overtly friendly), anxious.

How about "relaxed, passionate about many things, kind, reserved, cautious"

plumpootle · 26/11/2020 20:56

I feel happy with myself and am the person I want to be with the life I want to live.

Having a baby knocked all of the stuffing out of me and I flailed around for a bit and then, 18 months in I pulled myself together much more fully than ever before. Career took off, marriage improved, distanced from some toxic people and stopped people pleasing as much and bam! Feel v good!

Evanna13 · 26/11/2020 21:18

No, I would like to be more confident, less of a worrier and more ambitious.
I feel I have never gotten over the traumas in my past and they definitely hold me back. I basically just try to get by as best I can.
I feel I am just quiet, boring and anxious.

bingowingsmcgee · 26/11/2020 21:26

I like myself but goodness I wish I was more disciplined.

EnormousBlisterPack · 27/11/2020 09:33

Like ColourMeGreen has mentioned I looked at some behaviours that I aspired to. I'm a people pleaser, friendly & chatty but a bit socially awkward & shy, I was always surprised when people asked if I wanted to go for coffee/do something as I didn't think anyone would want to be friends.

I met a wonderful friend who was outgoing, but gentle with it, made lots of effort with people to meet/catch up etc. I wanted to be like her so I decided to emulate her behaviour making more effort to chat to new people, to suggest arrangements etc. Along the way I started to gain confidence & then see who wasn't worth my time & effort so dropped them off my list. Now I care a bit less about what people think of me, I'm a bit less of a people pleaser (won't every completely go).

There are many other traits to work on - I prevaricate enormously, hate making decisions as I've had some go pretty wrong so don't trust my own judgement. Often feel like I have nothing to add to a conversation but I am working on that with reading more, more aware of current affairs & trying hobbies.

The friends that are sticking are those that value my kindness & compassion, as well as my sense of humour. Focus on one small change at a time

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