The Relationship Between Identity & Beliefs
This is a follow-up to my post from earlier this week titled, "All Change Starts With Identity," where I explored an internal/external framing of the relationship between individuals and the reality of global society.
The four elements at affect within the framework were: Identity, Beliefs, Perception, and Reality. In summary, your reality is shaped by your own subjective perception of the objective truth. Your perceptions are built upon your beliefs, and your beliefs are built upon your identity.
In this post, I am focusing solely on the relationship between the first two elements: Identity and Beliefs.
Identity is who you are based on your unique set of characteristics (biological makeup, personality traits, appearance, expressions, behaviors, actions, interests) that can be used to define them as an individual that is different from anyone else.
Identity is adaptable and has the propensity to change throughout the course of your life even though you may feel as though your personal identity is stable and constant.
Beliefs are attitudes or acceptance that something is true or that something exists. Beliefs aim at truth and try to represent the world as it actually is (objective reality). However, beliefs do not necessarily involve an intention to change reality. Beliefs can be revisited and changed after being presented with evidence or having personal experiences that render that existing belief as false.
The relationship between your identity and beliefs is highly interconnected. I would even go as far to say that the subset of beliefs you have about yourself (internal) are part of your overall identity. However, you have to be careful when conflating one for the other.
What's important to take note of is that YOU ARE NOT YOUR BELIEFS. I see platitudes like this all over social media, like, "you are what you think" or "you are what you believe," etc. Though there are partial truths embedded within these statements, they are not objectively true and have the potential to confuse you.
If you identify as your belief systems then what will happen if and when those beliefs are wrong or change? Who will you identify as then?