As a business leader or someone who leads an organization, do you walk in your true identity?  It is difficult to lead others if you do not know who you truly are.  Many people live their entire life and never know their true identity.  Your identity is who you think you are, how you value yourself and how you perceive yourself.  

As a young kid I was extremely fascinated by dominos.  Not dominos the game, but actually setting up dominos on their ends and finding creative ways to knock that first one down, which then creates a chain reaction that begins to knock all of the subsequent ones down.  As I got older, I tried to lay the dominos out in interesting designs.  It was always amazing how fast the dominos would fall and how each one was dependent on the continuum of energy of the one before it to bring it down.  The very energy from the first domino impacted the last domino that fell. 

Your identity is like that first domino.  It is connected to all the other dominos.  Its energy effects other important parts of your life. Your identity begins a chain reaction that effects all of these areas.  These other areas include your:

• Confidence
• Self-esteem
• Self-worth
• Growth

These items, and others like it, have an effect on how you view and relate to other people, how you make decisions, how you handle failure and victories, how you handle challenges, and many other things.  

Since all of these things are tied to your identity, it is critical you have a clear understanding of your identity.

As a young pastor, one of my greatest failures was not having a grasp of my true identity.  In the early part of my ministry, my identity was completely tied to my occupation.  I saw myself as Pastor Harold.  That is who I was, in my mind.  This had a negative effect on myself, my wife and even my children.  

You true identity and how you see yourself should include:

• Your core values
• Your belief system
• Your personality traits
• Your qualities
• Your faith

In most cases, falsifying legal documents is a criminal act, punishable by expensive fines and/or jail time.  Having a “falsified” identity should also be a criminal offense.

3 areas that help create a false or falsified identity are:

1. Comparing
2. Competing
3. Compiling

COMPARING

Comparing yourself to others for your identity, in most cases, is like a dog chasing its own tail.  We compare ourselves to other people, in the same career, the same age, the same family, etc.  We also compare ourself to other people’s accomplishments, looks, and even how other people dress.  Your value becomes based upon how you see yourself in comparison to others.  A person begins to act, dress, look and be like the people they are comparing themselves to, so they never really get to be themselves.  

Overcoming The Temptation To Compare Yourself

First, recognize God created you and your are unique and one of a kind.  God did not make another person on this planet like you.    

Psalms 139:14 says, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”  The wonderfully made is one word in Hebrew and it means, to be distinct, separated, to be set apart.

There is no reason to compare your self to others.  The events, family, experience that is a part of you are and can never be repeated in another person’s life.  You are unique, so be that person God made YOU to be.

COMPETING

Some people spend their entire lives competing with others and themselves.  The outcomes of these competitions is where they get their identities.  This leads to what is called performance identity.  They get their value from the outcome of their performance.  It also creates, what I call, Destination Disease.  People will say, “if I can just get this position, or this house, or this car, then, I will be successful.  The problem is that once they arrive at this destination, they find there is yet another place they need to get to in order to be successful.  

Overcoming The Temptation To Compete

Realize everyone looses at time.  They don’t get the promotion or they don’t get that job, or get into that prestigious university.  You do not have to always win to be a winner.

Proverbs 24:16 says, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again;”

It does not matter how many times you fail or fall, it matters how many times you get back up.  Competition can be healthy in certain scenarios, but it should never be where you get your identity.  

Galations 5:26 says, “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”  The word Provoking is the Greek word prokaleomai and means challenge to combat or contest.  This scripture is talking about competing with someone.  The word Envying is a greek word that means to be jealous of.  Paul is clearly speaking of not spending our time competing or be jealous of others.  Paul downplays his education and position of prominence in several passages.  If you read other passages that Paul wrote, you can see that he did not want others jealous or feel they would need to compete with who he was.  

Compiling

Lastly, another thing that can cause a person to have a “falsified” identity is the compiling or the collecting of things.  The United States, especially, is a society that puts a lot of importance on having your identity tied to what you own or what you have. 

You have only to look at television commercials to recognize the emphasis on compiling possessions.  Having the best car, the best home, etc. creates a specific identity that is tied to those possessions.  I have seen people be house poor or car poor because their identity is propped up by these possessions. 

Overcoming The Temptation To Compete

I can only share with you what Jesus said in Luke 12:15.  “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”  You should resist the temptation of getting your value and your identity from the things you possess.

Let me encourage you to take some time and find out from God’s Word, who God says you are.  Begin to get your identity and your value from what God says about you and from who God says you are.

It is my prayer and my desire for you live in your true Godly identity.  When you do, you will discover a more meaningful life and career.