Rebuilding identity demands new efforts.
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We live with masks of power, position, possessions, prestige, and so on. Once the mask of status, whatever it is, is withdrawn, there is a feeling of less acceptance in social systems. We all need to be accepted and recognized all the time, but we don’t realize that we are made of masks over our "self," and reality is likely to be exposed, particularly in old age, when positions change.
It is a fact that we can regain glory, of course, with some difference, once we are out of power or position. Incidentally, many old people mistakenly think that their tasks are over. This line of thinking amounts to withdrawing from active life and living a life with zero responsibility. It is ridiculous.
"We know who we are but not what we may be." William Shakespeare
We have the opportunity to rebuild ourselves, irrespective of age, culture, background, and resources.
As I understand it, taking note of eleven concepts is immensely helpful in this regard:
● We have the capacity to bounce back and be repositioned. We can have more than one identity. We can create a new identity with efforts to be relevant in family, surroundings, and larger areas of influence.
● We have to re-emerge in the areas of liking and awaken latent talent.
● We have to learn for life from people, events, books, places, and expanding possibilities.
● We have to forget the conveniences and laurels of the past.
● Never have a feeling of inferiority when income is low and contacts are depleting.
● We have to create tasks on our own when out of previous settings.
● Believe that there are more niches to be explored than the main niche so far. Like the four seasons in many places globally, life has four phases—different in many respects.
● We can be more dynamic in this digital age when opportunities are advancing.
● Trust that in old age we enter the phase of giving more to the world than taking in various forms since childhood.
● Sharing insights, feelings, ideals, and experiences is not a small task. We have more time to focus on these matrixes when our roles are not at the center of affairs.
● Keep expectations from close people lower than the expectations in the prime days.
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Identity is not inherent. We have done something of our choice in the past to establish our identity. So, identity evolves. We can reinvent it if needed. We all have a craze to be recognized and be in touch with people. It has to be reworked.
There is no end to the path of self-discovery. Keep going and see how life unfolds. Never surrender, feeling an inability to keep pace with moving times. People create and recreate circumstances.
Lagging behind in technology is always an issue in our path of progress. One has to be technology-driven, irrespective of the field that person is pursuing.
In many instances, recognition is not parallel to our work. People take their own time to assess the merits of poets, scientists, social workers, economists, innovators, and adventurous people. There is no short cut to getting recognized.
We may choose domains that are not in the notice of common people, like turning waste materials into something useful or recycling used items.
Don’t feel unimportant when people are not consulting on important decisions. It happens in any setting. People might have labeled us in one category and not beyond that. It is now our duty to divulge other traits that are for their own benefit.
Life is happening at every moment. We often experience something beyond the range of our persisting concepts. Apart from changes in the outside world, we need to upgrade ourselves, looking at the new norms of the world.
Last words: All changes create opportunities to rebuild our identity.
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