Ten Ways to Get in Touch with Your Deep Identity

By Lyn T. Christian of SoulSalt, Inc.

1. Find your core values and then align your behaviors and decisions with these. Our Be True online course can help - you can start your
journey here. https://courses.soulsalt.com/p/be-true-discover-your-core-values

2. Identify your top two strengths—things you’re good at, things you love doing, or things that offer value to others when you exercise said
strengths. We suggest you purchase a new copy of the book Standout 2.0: Assess Your Strengths, Find Your Edge, Win at Work by
Marcus Buckingham.

3. Identify a core need that is not getting met. Then meet it. By core need we mean things like: I need long periods of uninterrupted time to
do . . . ; I need at least 7 hours of quality sleep; I need tasty and healthy meals; I need to move every 90 minutes, so I take short walks; etc.

4. Identify 100 aspirations. Take 30 days to identify one hundred “heart dreams.” Allow them to flow from both your personal and your
professional life. When the list is finished, choose one and bring it into reality. Make it happen. As you do this, notice how much of your
deep identity is awakened. Journal about it, and share your experience with someone close to you. Repeat the process as often as you’d
like.

5. Identify five safe, loving and supportive people in your life. Take them to coffee. In these one-to-one conversations, ask the following
questions: Where do you see me adding value? What is it about me that you connect to the most? What do you see in me that you haven’t
yet shared? Take notes. Go out and live with these wonderful sentiments leading your actions and thoughts.

6. Take Risks. Be Challenged. Sometimes we don’t know who we are until we look back and see how we’ve tackled a hard thing. Take time
to reflect after the challenge or risk has been completed.

7. Get Focused. Every one of us gives time, energy and our talents to things that are not critical or not that important. Start planning your
days and weeks better. Learn how to better manage your projects. Craft your life so you have fewer distractions and fewer items to attend
to. Add more space to focus on your priorities. It’s hard to have a sense of self within chaos.

8. Listen to the intimations of your heart. Our hearts are full of innate wisdom. Especially when it comes to topics of passion, likes vs.
dislikes, connection with others, and emoting. As often as possible, take a few deep breaths then ask your heart questions such as: What
do I value the most right now? What do I want the most right now? Who could I connect with in order to get clarity? What emotion am I
experiencing and what does this emotion want me to understand? Notice the feelings, thoughts or mental images these
questions provoke.

9. Follow your gut instincts. Our enteric brain, or “gut brain,” has over 500 million neurons. It sends more messages to the head brain than
the inverse. Take a few deep breaths and consider asking your gut the following questions: What do I need right now? What action would
be wise for me to take right now? What part of my deep identity needs to speak and what wisdom does it have to share right now?

10. Record and follow the insights of your head brain. From time to time you’ll have a flash of insight, a burst of
inspirational thought. It’s like a carrier pigeon flies into one ear, drops a message, and flies out the other.
Carry a devise (notebook, smart phone, stone tablet and chisel) with you. Immediately (don’t wait to “pass go”),
write down the inspiration. If something needs to be acted upon in a timely fashion, go do that thing.
However, most ideas can wait. At the end of each week, look over your notes. Curate only those items
that need to be acted upon after the initial emotion behind the idea has burnt off. Make the top item from
this list your next project.

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