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I’ve heard it said that if you don’t define who you are, others, and life invariably, will define you.

Corporate organizations often come up with vision and mission statements. These have been proven to drive the culture and focus of the organizations.  The same motive and lesson can be applied to us as individuals. Sometime ago, I went ahead to write my own definition.  It has consciously guided the way I think about myself, and the way I relate to society.

In writing my own WHO AM I, I realized there were aspects of the ‘me I wanted to be‘ that needed work. Because of this ‘motto’ I created for myself, it has been easy to realign myself to who I should be especially when I am tempted to fall out of line. 2016-06-20-001208-1

You should ask yourself what you stand for. Knowing who you are and what you stand for will guide you in a lot of things. For instance

-It will guide the way you interact with others

For instance, I treat every single person I interact with respect. That’s WHO I AM. I am totally against people who look down on others distrespectfully. Also, because in my WHO I AMs, I am a man of integrity, I let that guide the outcomes  of my interaction with people.

-It will guide your motivations

When you clearly know who you are, who you are will tilt towards those things that motivate you. For instance, if you tell yourself you’re the ‘best farmer in town’, you would easily be drawn to things that would help you achieve the vision you see for yourself.

-It would act as a moral compass

Are there not times when you feel like you want to cut corners unlawfully? In those situations, your conscience(who also knows your personal definitions) will come questioning.

Below are just a few lists of my personal declaration of Who I am. Because I am a patriotic Nigerian, my intentions and actions are directed toward bettering the country. This also means you will never catch throwing out any candy wraps on the streets. And yes, I wasn’t entirely sure I was a patriotic Nigerian till I wrote this.  I wrote ‘I am thorough with my work and commitments’. This just means that whenever I have the urge and temptation to ‘drop the ball’ in my work, I will immediately remember who I am and get myself realigned.

  • I am a man of peace
  •  I am a patriotic Nigerian.
  • I put family first, only after God.
  • I am a man of growing faith.
  • I am disciplined.
  • I am a man of integrity.
  • I am thorough with my work and commitments.

Today, I called some of my closest friends to ask what they thought about me. I asked them the question, “Who is Seye”. Some of the feedback I got was, Seye is –
– emotionally cold
– he tries to do the right thing
– discipline
– self-control
– morally-sound
– weird in a good way
– experimental with things
– unpredictable
– annoying
– eclectic taste
– good food
– not-friendly
– does the right things
– nice
– realistic

Would you try to write your own WHO AM I? Before you do it, ask your closest buddies who they think you are.

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