This is the 200^th post on this blog. There are over 1100 comments over more than 4 years!

Congratulations to Writer Dave, at least for his blog longevity!

Now to the nitty-gritty of this post:

Identity defined- the characteristics determining who and what a person is and distinguishing them from others.

The Cycle– Nothingness- Birth- Life- Death- Nothingness.

The “Life” in the middle of the cycle is where we find identity.

Do we find our identity in the stages of our life?

Early Adulthood-18-45—Making major life choices- marriage, occupation and style of life.

Midlife- 45-60- Loss of youth and changes in psychology. Start to ask profound questions such as: What have I accomplished? Increased wisdom, maturity and reflection. Start to face up to personal mortality.

Late Aduthood- 60 -65- Retirement, bodily decline, forming new interests.

Old Age- 65-80- Enhance the state of being whole and unified. Make peace with yourself and your mortality.

These stages are only partially where we find our identity.

A person must know who he is. He is the “writer” and the “object” of his actions. You are the center of your own being.

How do you know: Who you are?

Your identity grows out of the interacting of three factors: The sociological, the psychological and the philosophical.

Sociological—the relationship of oneself to others and society as a whole.

Psychological—the roles of the Id, the Superego and the Ego.

Philosophical—existence – what is and is to be. Existentialism- we are free agents, responsible for our own actions.

***

We are in the situation of a person in a world which they never made BUT are always making.

We all experience, “Existential Anxiety”, a philosophical view of Identity.

What is that, you say.

Well, lets say we are walking in darkness and feeling various emotions, knowing that the darkness was before one lived, and that there will be darkness when one lives no longer. In between these two darks, we must live our lives, we must dare to act and we are responsible for those actions. This is the anxiety.

***

Understanding identity through the psychological viewpoint of the “Id”, “superego” and the “ego”, using Freud’s terms.

The “Id” is the instinctual urges of a person.

The “superego” is the commands and prohibitions of one’s parents and society, which the child takes on board.

The “ego” is the way a person orients himself toward reality.

Your personality and identity develop as a result of the interplay between the id, ego and superego.

***

We are in an age of disintegrating values and rapid change, which is creating instability. In the family, parental authority grows weaker and the ideals of society are undermined.

The superego’s role in forming identity is in decline. So, the ego is lacking in direction from the superego and there is now identity instability which creates stress. The forces of the id are closer to the surface of people’s personality. In this situation of stress, the individual is likely to experience an identity crisis!

So, how can we deal with this crisis?

It probably will continue because we have to live in a culture that is unstable and affords the individual little external support.

The answer is: we must distinguish the important from the trivial. We must realize that our stability and sanity depend on the extent we can find advice and help within ourselves rather than in others and to continue to indulge in critical self-questioning.

Take this idea to heart and remember:

A MIND STRETCHED BY A NEW IDEA NEVER RETURNS TO ITS ORIGINAL DIMENSIONS!