"You are what you think all day long" - Emerson
That's something I've found to be a primary social truth.
It’s a very 'LinkedIn' statement, and it normally would progress into some kind of dogma about committing to your goals and business. It's broader than that.
The first rather staggering interaction I had with this truth was working at a camp for kids with epilepsy. (Camp Coelho in Northern California)
A teen, we'll call him David, runs up on day one and exclaims:
"I have epilepsy!". "We all do", I say. He responds, "NO! You don't understand, I have epilepsy!".
This kid felt the need to tell me about his disability before his own name. That was his introduction.
His hierarchy of identity was:
His Epilepsy
His name
How you introduce yourself says a great deal about who you are, or at least who you think you are.
Most people lead with:
Their name
Their profession (and that's it)
For David, his epilepsy was so omnipresent in his life that it consumed him. To no fault of his own, his was life so interrupted by the condition that it was always first on his mind.
I get asked a lot by this community, how does one get past that weight? How can they become more if their circumstances are constantly taking control of their life?
I think we all have a lesson to learn from this question, whether it's about a medical condition or not. Life always seems to be in the way of who we want to be.
Most people are more than their work, and have qualities that never see the light of day because they go undiscussed and un-nurtured.
What ever it is that consumes your time also consumes your identity, and plenty of people feel crushed under the weight of that struggle.
People with epilepsy are not the only ones with lives that get interrupted. Most of us find trouble investing in new hobbies and explorations, but it's critical, even if our good/free moments are rare.
I tell those people, what are you curious about? Do you like puzzles? Are you interested in gardening? Reading? Do you like history or fantastical fiction? What would happen if you spent your one good hour thinking about that?
It would transform the hierarchy of your identity.
Directing the Under the Lights short film in 2018 - starring Pearce Joza and Alyssa Jirells
When I was a teen, I really struggled with this. I felt I was living in a doctor office while peers lived life. I refused to work these feelings into my art because I was afraid it would consume my identity. But in discovering a love for filmmaking I found pride in being something new outside of that struggle. That's what I started thinking about ALL DAY. And suddenly the hierarchy shifts:
The things we struggle with, or simply do not like about ourselves start to move DOWNWARD.
Suddenly I became:
Miles
A filmmaker
An advocate
A person who ALSO has epilepsy
(With terrible posture)
And I got a LOT happier.
It changed even more when I started thinking about those struggles as a worthy part of who I am. In making the Under the Lights short, about a boy with epilepsy, my limitations became useful and second to my purpose. Watch it here:
So who are you? That which we struggle with consumes us, and that's normal. What could you explore with your limited time that might be fun for you?
Think about how you introduce yourself, it says a lot about who you are. Ask yourself what you think about all day. And if you have limitations, what small investment can you make over time to change that? A drop in the bucket over a lifetime can add up.
EXCITING NEWS!
We made the FULL Under the Lights film, with huge stars and big power, we will deliver the most impactful moment for epilepsy awareness in HISTORY.
To be the first to find out when the full movie is released - put your email in HERE at www.underthelightsfilm.com
