Identity and Outcomes

Tuesday, March 10

You made the shot or missed the shot.
You took the shot or didn’t take the shot.
You won the game or lost the game.
You got the job or you didn’t get the job.
You got the sale or you didn’t get the sale.
You crumbled under pressure or you stayed calm under pressure.

All of these are outcomes (obviously we could list hundreds more). It’s what we focus on. What we measure ourselves by. It’s our scoreboard for our “success” and, oftentimes, our value.

And when we live this way, every time we get an outcome we didn’t want, it’s another weight added to bar we’re trying to life. Every setback we face, every time we fall short, every we aren’t “good enough” for the moment, the bar gets heavier and heavier.

It’s an exhausting way to live, tying your identity to your outcomes. Because even when you do get the outcome you want, it’s not enough. It’s never as satisfying as you think it will be.

Achievements and outcomes and performances are not who you are. They are some of the things you do. When you separate your identity from your outcomes, you free yourself up to bring your best to the moment. You still want to win. You still want to close the deal. You still want to make the shot. You still want to get the job. But whether you do or don’t doesn’t impact your sense of value and identity.

Care about outcomes. But root your identity in something bigger.
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Keep chopping wood. 🪵🪓

-Kevin