This is me two weeks exactly after my surgery. You can tell from the beard...I'm not planning to keep it but it's been growing since the operation. It gives me a Ernest Hemingway look that goes with the fact I have been doing a lot of writing and reflecting lately.
Two things happened today that made me think again about how my recovery process has progressed. Firstly, I received my monthly copy of the Journal of Applied Psychology today. This month's special edition is on social identity and well-being. (I'm an applied psychologist...that means I did six years full time university study after my undergraduate business degree, and my focus is psychology applied to real world issues. In my case my expertise is psychology applied to business, ethics and organizations. The International Association of Applied Psychologists is the world's oldest professional psychology association.)
Secondly, someone I don't know was reading this blog and commented "...I did find it interesting. He sure is a type A. I could not agree with him more on how his outlook affects how he recovered!!!"
I don't think of myself as a type A, or super competitive, or very driven. I've had feedback before that I come across this way, but, like most people I just think I'm "normal". However, I know that how you identify yourself makes a huge difference to your effectiveness when faced with stresses and challenges.
You've possibly heard the saying "whether you think you can or think you can't, you're always right". A lot of people mistake "positive outlook" for some kind of new-age ability to affect the world around you because of how you think. It's much more complicated than that. My IAAP journal featured articles that show that if you identify with a group that gives you a sense of meaning, purpose and belonging, it's likely that your positive self-image will spill over into your ability to handle challenges, particularly health related challenges.
Type A outlook? Sort of, but not quite.
You can see in the picture that I'm wearing my last marathon finisher's t-shirt. Today was my first day of physiotherapy, and I wore it to the physio session. I wasn't trying to be smart, but I think of myself as a marathoner. I identify with that determination to finish, stamina, and positive mental attitude. I didn't think about why I wore it today until I came home, read my email comments and opened my journal. Yep...that's one of the ways that I identify myself, and that attitude carries over into my ability to deal with this surgery and everything else in my life.
Social and self identity are extremely important. How you see yourself is reflected in how others treat you, and plays a key role in determining the mental resources you can muster. I once coached a Finance Director who felt that every day on the job was a fraud...another day he got by until people found out he wasn't very good. The thing is he really was good, running financial operations for a multi-billion dollar operation spread across dozens of countries, but with that attitude he could never muster the self-confidence to be a really effective leader in his organization.
It's better to find a more effective self-identity...like great parent, generous parishioner, faithful friend or whatever. All of us have complex self identities, part of mine is being a marathoner.
How do you identify your self?
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