Identity, Core Values and their impact on the Unknown

Identity & Core Values and their impact on decision-making. We all live in the realm of the unknown. This is especially true in new ventures but also in existing ventures. The unknown surrounds us and influences our decisions and our lives in countless and mostly subtle ways. We as humans have developed systems to help us navigate these oceans of the unknown, and those systems rely on the fundamental principle of identity. For it is only through the filter of identity that we can navigate the waters of the oceans of the unknown with a modicum of success. Identity is the foundation through which we can look at the unknown and not feel completely and utterly overwhelmed.

Picture for a moment yourself in the middle of the ocean adrift without a boat. You cannot even take stock of your situation because you are constantly attempting not to drown which requires you to utilize your thoughts and efforts on just that goal, “not to drown”. Now picture that you are in that same situation with a boat, even if it just a small life raft. That small raft as almost insignificant as it seems to be in the depth of that huge ocean, gives you that small amount of breathing room to be able to focus on something more than just “not drowning”. It will allow you to utilize some of your mental capacity and physical ability to figure out a way to survive and get out of danger. Now picture to yourself that, that boat grows larger and larger. With the boat larger and larger now you can almost totally forget about the risk of drowning, and you can invest more of your faculties to identify where you are and where you want to go and how to get there. For any of you who have had the pleasure of being on a cruise you can remember how insignificant swells that would have capsized a small boat do not even affect the cruise ship.

Well, identity is like that boat on the ocean. Without it, we always feel lost and about to drown in the oceans of the unknown which surround us at all times, making that place look scary and threatening. However as our identity grows we feel more secure in the flux of that ocean. We have that anchor to give us the breathing room to think and identify and understand what the unknown is in front of us, a tool to make sense of it and lower the unknowingness of it all. As our identity is stronger and more secure we are like on that cruise ship enjoying our selves in waters that could capsize a weaker boat (identity). It is through this that we can achieve what most dream about, and that is living in a world where the unknown is no longer a place of fear and threats but a wonderful place filled with opportunities, new found joys and success.