Can One Word Define You?

In a recent conversation about ego, I was challenged to imagine the idea that I am "nobody"... not an executive coach; not a writer; not a father; not a skier. That is, could I just "be", moving through life without a label?

This is a deceptively difficult challenge. We are taught to do the opposite, to have a clear public positioning so as to increase our worth in the marketplace.

Let's dive in a bit and see where it takes us...

What if you replaced your labels (Senior Vice President or Creative Director or Furniture Maker or Stay at Home Dad...) with a single energy or emotion? Could you come up with one that captures who you want to be and how you want to be perceived?

To illustrate, here are a few possibilities:

• Compassionate

• Kind

• Resilient

• Loyal

• Grateful

• Strong

• Loving

I am drawn to "loving", because it pulls me towards my best self. While I am capable of being analytical, forceful or tenacious, those orientations don't bring out the best in me. In contrast, when I accept others for who and what they are, it benefits both others as well as me.

Let's take this one more step... once you choose an energy or emotion, how might that affect the labels that traditionally define you? For example, could you co-exist as both "grateful" and "Business Analyst, Level Three"? Can you be both "Generous" and "Founder and CEO"? If you had to move through life with both one new word as well as your traditional labels, which do you think would predominate?

Recognizing that this is just an exercise—and that you don't actually have to live with one word for the rest of your life—what word first comes to your mind, and why?