This is the third in a series of six sidenotes, the first two can be found here:
How hard can it be, to be me (1)
How hard can it be, to be me (2); dissecting the authentic life
Do I know who I am?
Do I know who I’m going to be?
Do I want to be who I’m becoming to be?
Do I know if it is really me?
Or if it is what I think I want to be?
Or if it is what I think others want me to be?
Not the easiest questions, in my opinion anyway. I give these questions a lot of thought. They interest me in several ways and, philosophical in nature as they are, I want to investigate them in a pragmatic way.
I have found a way to test if something I think is part of my authentic me, really is part of my authentic me. This testing involves creating a working hypothesis, a method of testing and criteria for acceptance or rejection.
Creating the hypothesis
If something is part of my authentic me, it has to add value or meaning to me and to others, I use my power of free choice, and it allows (or even encourages) me to grow. So as a working hypothesis I use a sentence like:
To ensure my authentic future growth <enter topic/goal/ambition here> allows me to add value or meaning to my and other people’s lives.
Examples:
- To ensure my authentic future growth, starting a blog about personal development allows me to add value or meaning to my and other people’s lives.
- To ensure my authentic future growth, participating actively in the upbringing of my children allows me to add value or meaning to my and other people’s lives.
- To ensure my authentic future growth, starting a community theatre group allows me to add value or meaning to my and other people’s lives.
By creating the hypothesis, I already think about the three elements of authentic life. A hypothesis like “earning a million dollars in 2008” makes me wonder almost instantaneously how and why that activity would create value in other people’s lives. It is a goal, that’s for sure, but what purpose does it serve? The purpose behind the goal (the “why”), needs to be in the hypothesis.
Next sidenote is about testing.
