Sometimes navigating life some days feels like you don’t have all the verbs and the nouns in the sentence, or like you are working with one word that can have a variety of meanings. In short, like you do not have the full context. You do not have all the pieces and are looking for context clues as a source of information to help understand the world in which you are living—what is happening around you and why is it happening.

With so much change going on around you it can be easy to feel out of context with your life, or to start defining yourself by your circumstances. What is the perspective you hold on your life? Do you see yourself as interesting, capable, adventurous, fun, bright, etc., or do you see yourself as struggling and not successful? Which context would serve you best? Do you focus on the content of your life versus the context?

Here’s an example. Often we make (like New Year’s Resolutions) measurable, concrete goals (the content) without the context. Context is the setting for an idea or experience and the way in which it can be fully understood. Context impacts the setting of the content. 

When we talk about making change in our lives this often involves deep reflection, setting intentions and accepting ourselves—but sometimes we miss the context piece. And it can be quite tempting to identify yourself by your circumstances.  So the question that rises to top is how do you shift how you view and define yourself? It should not be by your circumstances or how others define you.

Look closely at how you describe yourself—who you are and how you contribute. This is a big clue to how you see the context of your life. For many of us we identify ourselves by our role, our job, where we live, where we came from, etc.  Taking a fresh approach to describing yourself requires you to look deep inside yourself—how you see yourself, how you feel about your value to others and how you want to contribute to the context of your life.

The good news is that you can cultivate who you want to be. And a first step is to value your individuality. Remember also that you are not your surroundings. You are not your body. You are not your circumstances. As Leo Babauta, Zen Habits, says, “Being different is what makes you who you are. It means you’re daring to live your own life, on your terms, with your values. It means you have courage to stand out from the mainstream. It means you’re interesting. Hug those differences, be grateful for them, own them. Be proud of them.”