Define yourself…

Who are you?

Most of us have to introduce ourselves in our day to day lives. Depending upon the setting, we introduce ourselves as “Rahul’s mom”, or “I’m from IT”, or “I’m from so and so company”, etc…

But how would you define yourself, if there was no context?

Is it by saying what you spend most of your time doing?

Or by stating what makes you sound important/special/impressive?

I would usually introduce myself with just my name, and for a very long time, that would be enough before I’m asked - “What does that mean?”.

If I gave both my first and last names, well, that would almost always be a great conversation starter :)

Over the years, as my hair started turning grey, people stopped asking me what my name meant. It might be just that even in India, we have seen more traditionally western names become not so unusual (BTW, my name has nothing western about it). Or it might just be that we are less inquisitive (or nosy, take your pick) about name etymology.

Anyway, I started thinking about this a few years ago when social media bios started becoming a thing, and a little more seriously when the thought of penning my thoughts into a blog came to me…

After some deliberation, I found that it’s not what I do for a living, but what gives me joy that defines me.

So what is it that brings you joy?