We tend to think of our community defining us as being too restrictive. Yet defining ourselves is in many ways much harder and lead to existential crises.
Discussion
We define everything through the lense of our perception. It's easier to change your perception than to change your environment.
And yet we are commanded to “know ourselves”.
I think the rewards that come with knowing who we are - strengths, weaknesses, biases, vices, depth of emotion - are well worth the difficulty.
Further, one who knows themselves enriches the community even further. A community who has focused on themselves is going to be made of stronger stuff than their neighbor who doesn’t.
We are all sovereign individuals. Whether or not we abdicate this responsibility doesn’t change that.
so true. defining yourself and ignoring your community/relationships is pretty much narcissism/psychopathy. you need to have feedback about your self-constructed identity: are you really that virtuous? are you really that smart? are you really that good looking?
if you need to keep insisting that you really are virtuous, smart and good looking and you ignore feedback, then you are living in a delusion.
obviously don’t go too far and let society define you or be a people pleaser: you need some self respect/awareness. maybe existential crises are the universe’s way of signalling to you that the reason you are suffering and feel misaligned is because you are living in a delusion and need to adjust your distorted perception of reality.
Why define yourself?
It’s much more interesting and productive to expand yourself.