Have you ever felt that some questions come to you at the most unexpected times, and they just change the whole thought or direction of your being. Few days back, while I was trying to address a customer’s concern, during the conversation that was largely disappointing from the perspective of the client, on a lighter note he asked me a really important question.

“Who are you besides your work?”

I was speechless for few seconds as I was unable to understand that haven’t I introduced myself at the beginning of the meeting. He understood that I haven’t realised the importance of the question and again asked, I am not asking “What you do for your living?”, that I know, what I intend to ask is have you ever thought on “Who are you beside your work?”

It’s simple to mistakenly associate our identity with our occupation in today’s hectic society. People frequently assume that you will talk about your work, career, or professional identity when they ask, “What do you do?” Is that all you have to offer, though? Beyond your job, who are you?

If we really want to find the answer for this, we need to take a step back and reflect on the other facets of our lives. After doing what I am suggesting I found 10 aspects on which if we start thinking we might be able to answer this question more truthfully:

1. Identify the principles that guide your decision making and behaviour
2. Engage in activities that excite you, make you feel passionate
3. Understand your natural talents and areas of improvement
4. Pay attention to your intuition or gut feeling
5. Reflect on what you liked to do as a child as that was unbiased from societal expectations
6. Ask you friends & family : as they can see what you can overlook in your ownself
7. Write your thoughts, feelings and the experience it will give you clarity
8. Identify your limiting beliefs and challenge them
9. Spend Alone Time
10. Stay Open to Change

Accept that discovering yourself is a continuous journey. Success is not a measure of professional life, it encompasses all areas of life and finally it has to all begin by searching inside not outside.