Becoming Someone: Importance of Personal Identity
Becoming an independent person is a normal part of growing up. As we mature from teenagers into fully fledged adults, we are expected to start our own careers and pursue our own life goals without the guidance of parents or teachers. Learning to live independently is not only a matter of personal knowledge and ability to make your own decisions, it also requires you to assert with confidence that you know what you want for yourself and that you are capable of achieving your life goals.
People who struggle to decide what they want to achieve with their life often have not developed a strong sense of personal identity. Such people cannot make decisions because they have not discovered what they really value and therefore, what they want to pursue. These individuals become dependent on others to determine their values or their lives for them. The cost of this dependency on others is steep. With such a strong need for the guidance of others dependent people often find themselves in shallow and unfulfilling relationships because they do not feel comfortable with expressing their true needs and opinions. The end result is that the dependent person often feels a deep sense of want without the knowledge of what it is that they want.
Learning to become an independent person is a big task. It requires self-confidence and self-awareness. I hope that by highlighting the risks of remaining dependent on others to manage your life I can encourage you to take some time for self-reflection. Perhaps you can further your growth by taking steps towards greater independence through determining who you want to become.