4 ms·

Identity Diversification: The Case for a Well-Balanced Sense of Self

29 points by imartin2k 8y ago

atomical 8y ago
If one has a cognitive distortion it's better to talk back to that distortion. Why should these aspects of so called identity be important to how I feel anyway? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeling_Good:_The_New_Mood_Therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeling_Good:_The_New_Mood_The...
andygcook 8y ago
As a founder, I’m working on diversifying my identity by learning mandolin, reading more fiction, and running again. The funny thing is I’m actually more effective at work when I take time for myself outside of the company. In the moment it’s hard to give myself the permission, but I almost never regret it now.
codethief 8y ago
This resonates a lot with me. I recently ran into a somewhat similar situation and I was grateful that I had read Mark Manson's article about the same topic[1] a while back. It allowed me to recognize and address the underlying issue fairly quickly. [1] https://markmanson.net/diversify-your-identity https://markmanson.net/diversify-your-identity
zachsnow 8y ago
I was looking forward to reading this article as the concept (even just the name, identify diversification) immediately resonated with me. What I found was an anecdote followed by a few hypotheticals. “What if you spend all your time sportsing and then you get hurt?” Really a minimal treatment of the idea unfortunately.
lihaciudaniel 8y ago
Isn't this common Buddhist teaching. My body doesn't define me , my mind who tells me suicidal thoughts does not define me. What do you guys think ?
- DenisM 8y ago
  The article is less ambitious - find a couple more identities so you can get by when one crumbles. Buddhist thing is more radical - stop relying on identities and stop having them.
davidgerard 8y ago
or: "Keep your identity large."
Isamu 8y ago
Your interests need maintenance and care, you cultivate them like a garden. You can definitely find yourself uninterested in everything if you think interests should find you and not the other way around.
Flenser 8y ago
Keep Your Identity Small — http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html

29 points by imartin2k 8y ago

If one has a cognitive distortion it's better to talk back to that distortion. Why should these aspects of so called identity be important to how I feel anyway? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeling_Good:_The_New_Mood_Therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeling_Good:_The_New_Mood_The...

andygcook 8y ago

As a founder, I’m working on diversifying my identity by learning mandolin, reading more fiction, and running again. The funny thing is I’m actually more effective at work when I take time for myself outside of the company. In the moment it’s hard to give myself the permission, but I almost never regret it now.

codethief 8y ago

This resonates a lot with me. I recently ran into a somewhat similar situation and I was grateful that I had read Mark Manson's article about the same topic[1] a while back. It allowed me to recognize and address the underlying issue fairly quickly. [1] https://markmanson.net/diversify-your-identity https://markmanson.net/diversify-your-identity

zachsnow 8y ago

I was looking forward to reading this article as the concept (even just the name, identify diversification) immediately resonated with me. What I found was an anecdote followed by a few hypotheticals. “What if you spend all your time sportsing and then you get hurt?” Really a minimal treatment of the idea unfortunately.

lihaciudaniel 8y ago

Isn't this common Buddhist teaching. My body doesn't define me , my mind who tells me suicidal thoughts does not define me. What do you guys think ?

DenisM 8y ago
The article is less ambitious - find a couple more identities so you can get by when one crumbles. Buddhist thing is more radical - stop relying on identities and stop having them.

davidgerard 8y ago

or: "Keep your identity large."

Isamu 8y ago

Your interests need maintenance and care, you cultivate them like a garden. You can definitely find yourself uninterested in everything if you think interests should find you and not the other way around.

Flenser 8y ago

Keep Your Identity Small — http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html