Tough Time During Identity Crisis

I am not sure why so many of us center our identity on what we do, rather than who we are. I think who we are becomes tied and steeped into our careers. It's unfortunate, because we place so much undue importance on vocation, and material things, rather than how we treat people, the relationships we keep, the family we love. Shouldn't the latter be more pivotal to our happiness? And to our identity? For whatever reason, I think we tend to believe we are nothing unless we have a stable career, or are at least fulfilling and achieving something, anything, everyday.

have thought about this a lot with our current recession, and the unbelievable amount of jobs that have been lost. Of course it affects anyone who has been laid off -- men, women, fresh out of college 20-somethings -- but I have to think that it must be especially difficult for the breadwinners of the families. Obviously it's rough because this person is the one who brings in most of the income, and without that necessary money, the entire family suffers, but what about that person's identity and self-esteem? Their role in the family, and in life, has been to provide. What happens with (s)he is no longer able to do that? Won't that person begin to feel depressed, confused, and ultimately, a bit worthless? Of course, they are not worthless - they are still the same person they were before they lost their job; our core characters and personalities, while they may always shift a little, remain relatively the same. But it is no longer possible for that individual to fulfill the duty of providing, and monetarily caring for the family.

I am not the breadwinner of my family, quite the contrary. I don't even have a family of my own yet, which is a good thing since it's been difficult just to keep myself afloat over the past few months. But for years, I have struggled with self-confidence issues in terms of being financially stable and independent.But here's the thing: this lack of money, and adequate work, is killing us mentally. It's making all feel like a giant waste of space. I often forget to take stock of the reasons why I'm an important member of society (like, I aim to treat everyone kindly and with respect and I smile at strangers in the hopes of bettering their days) and focus on all the reasons why I'm purposeless.

It's hard to have so many goals, also, but not really know where to start. Does this ever happen to you? Do you ever feel frozen by your endless goals? I have so many things I want to accomplish in life that I tend to find myself stuck, and overwhelmed, before I even begin. How do you counteract this? I know the answer is simple: just do. But for some reason, it doesn't feel so easy.

Have you noticed people struggling with their identities as we roll deeper into recession?.