So many fantastic answers... yet I'm still so confused.
Ok here is what you have helped me realize. That the problem is that what I do does dictate who I am ***PRESENTLY***. It does not dictate the positional truth of WHO I AM.
For example, just because you are presently fat, does not mean that you are designed to be fat. It simply means that is your present condition.
I think what I should have asked more specificially is how do I seperate what I do from Who I am SUPPOSED TO BE. I agree that in a perfect world and if I were perfect they would be one and the same, however we all know that neither one of those conditions exist. So how do I divide it?
Some possible answers swirling inside of me ...
You can't seperate the too, but the only thing you can change is the doing, so begin to work on the little things in the doing and it will indicate the large who...
It is possible to seperate the two, but it demands relationships with people that can see me beyond what I do. That are willing to suffer my ignorant doing to draw out the REAL ME.
It is possible and it demands a visitation from God, where he sits and tells you who you are supposed to be... yes this seems a little drastic... but I'm just not shutting out any possibilities yet. I know alot of people who claim to know "who they are supposed to be" that way.
You don't have to critique my thoughts... but fire away with new answers!
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Here's what I think - take it or leave it. You have to get to the place where who you are overshadows what you do. Your job title and individual tasks should not dictate who you are but HOW you do them does, in my opinion. Your work ethic, dedication, determination, essentially, your character is who you are. We have been taught that we need to have the mindset that our employer will be blessed and prosperous while we work for them. So you may have been hired just to fill a position but, hopefully who you are (exhibited through your character) is what causes them to keep you. I've heard it recently - you should be such a good worker that they will pay you more money to keep you from leaving. When I volunteered at the hospital, I purposed that I was going to be such a good worker that they would have to hire 2 people to do the work I did as a volunteer. As of right now, they have hired one person since I've been there. I think that kind of relates to your first option.
Also, I think you are right about relationships. It's like what I said about respect - If you want to see and know you really are, hand out with peiple who can see it now.
Vick
Well, I wish I could login . . . but I forgot my password. Anyway . . . here's my two cents . . .
I do believe that the two are separate arenas in relation to other people. "What I do" to an outsider (who has no close relationship with me) cannot make accurate conclusions about "Who I Am." They ARE pretty accurate about "What I Am."
Let me interject the definitions of "what" & "who" from my buddy "Webster." "What" requests the physical character, position, worth, origin, action, and other qualities about something/someone. "Who" request the PERSON of physical character, position, worth, origin . . . In other words, the "who" requests the person of the "what."
(Back to the subject . . .) Now, maybe I've had one too many behavioral science & psychology classes, but I know one can characterize what I am by what I do. For example, if I can sing exceptionally well, then what I am is a singer; if I play sports very well, then what I am is an athlete. If I produce estrogen & menstruate, then what I am is a woman. If my skin cells produce melanin due to my African ancestry, then what I am is Black. If I do the same thing over & over again, expecting different results, then what I am is an idiot (commeriacl break- HA!) . . . You get the point . . .
What I am (a woman, a singer, an athlete, & Black) are all facts about me. However, if others use these characteristics (what I am) to relate to me, all they're going to be able to spit out are generalizations- as if all women/singers/athletes/Blacks are the same. YOU STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHO "VICKIE" IS.
"Who I am" is more than what I look like or do. It is the result of the experiences & visitations (good, bad & ugly) I've had & still having with God, God-in-others, & other people. It's why relationships are important!
I'm not saying that What I Do & What I Am aren't important. They are like the skin, tissues, & muscles of my body; but, even they aren't functional & useful without the consistency of the bone, "Who I Am."
What I do & what I am are equally important as long as they flow out of who I am. Otherwise, identifying "who I am" based on "what I do" is nothing more than idle performance in the journey of discovering who I truly am.
Vick
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