Perfectionism is a mindset that demands we perform as superbly as possible to be sufficient as a person. We conflate our goodness as a person with our performance in areas we care about—academics, our job, our social behavior, fitness, appearance, parenting, home organization, the list goes on.

By its nature, identity fractures our sense of self and conceals the whole Self that exists at our core. Identity, or your sense of self, is who you know yourself to be at any given moment. It’s created by a thought that tends to be so deceptively simple that it’s often overlooked, but the implications are quite significant: identity shapes one’s... See more

This essay is a combination of personal reflection on the self and identity labels, the restrictions that label-based belonging imposes and the discomfort that freedom can bring. Included are good mental models, praise for values-based life navigation, and interpretations of popular culture.