Personal Identity
Having a strong sense of personal identity can help us better know and embrace ourselves.
Getting to know yourself
There are lots of ways to connect with your identity and better understand the things that make you, you. For some people their identity comes from their culture, religion, passions, or where they feel comfortable and at home. It is different for everyone, that is part of what makes us all unique.
What do you already know about yourself? Think about the things that make up who you are: your likes and dislikes, your culture, your beliefs, your community, your family and friends. All these things contribute toward your identity.
Where do you feel comfortable? The places we connect with and that make us feel at home often speak to our identity and what is meaningful to us. This could be your local Marae, your church, the outdoors, your actual home, or anywhere else special to you.
What topics matter most to you? Being passionate about certain issues or topics can help us better understand our own values, and what is important to us. Think about what topics you feel strongly about or inspire you.
What values to do hold close to your heart? Our values help to guide us and living out the values that re important to us can help to shape our personal identities. Think about the kind of values you use when making decisions, the values you look for in friends, or the values held by the people close to you.
Embracing your identity
When we understand our identity, the things we connect with, and the things that help make up who we are, we embrace these things to support ourselves. Through engaging with our identity, we can strengthen our sense of self, our sense of belonging, and our sense of purpose.
Explore the things you are passionate about. Take time to learn and engage with the topics that you are passionate about. This can help us to better connect with our values and feel fulfilled.
Spend time where you feel at home. Make time to go to the places you feel comfortable or spend time with the people who make you feel at home. This can help us to connect to the things around us that matter most to us and feel a part of something.
Spend time with yourself. Get to know yourself better by engaging in the things you love and reflecting on how these make you feel. This can help you to understand the different things that make up your identity, and how you can prioritise these.
Share with others. Sharing our identities with others can help us to connect with the people around us and feel empowered to be ourselves. It can be especially fulfilling being able to connect with people who identify with the same things you do.
