I have been contemplating the question of identity for a while. I see many humanitarians defining themselves as aid workers firstly and foremost. And only then, other identities such as a brother, a traveler, an uncle, a teacher, a tech geek, etc show up. The identity of an aid worker seems to be deeply ingrained in our bones. And I wondered. Is it always good? Can it be also harmful? Is there a stage when this strong identity is no longer serving the person and causing the person to be stuck?
Hear me out! I have recently listened to a very interesting podcast with the writer G.Doyle who has been stating that she was no longer identifying herself as anything because this has been limiting her in her own growth. She sensed that she kept on outgrowing many of her identities and the external world wanted to keep the old labels on her. Hmm, maybe a bit extreme, I thought to myself.
Then, I remembered how my humanitarian identity was challenged about 7-8 years ago when I found myself in the middle of London right after having served in a life-saving operation in the field. In other words, I went directly from a life-saving in midst of a conflict to the middle of the banking district in London. I also recall being really confused about who I am and constantly asking myself, what am I doing here? What’s the purpose of my life? What’s going on?
And so my questions to all humanitarians:
∙ What is your strongest identity?
∙ Do you see yourself as a humanitarian worker first? What is your other identity?
∙ Are you noticing that you are too attached to your humanitarian identity? Is it negatively affecting other parts of your life?
∙ Is it hindering you in advancing in your life?
∙ Do you feel that you need to keep your humanitarian identity in order not to disappoint people around you?
If any of this resonates, give me a shout. I will be happy to hear from you and walk you through some tough questions that you are asking yourself.
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