Scripts and brands. And tribes.

“Just [because] someone said that you’re good in this, it doesn’t mean you have to do it for the rest of your life. Maybe something has changed. Maybe you’re getting older and maybe something else is coming into play. And I want to allow myself to do that. I want to have enough internal strength to say, yeah, that’s it. And please do not ask me anymore about what you’ve been doing this last year. Yeah, I’m not doing it anymore. Because, that’s just it. Now I am moving into another phase – I just found an interest in more – I don’t know – um, a painting. Or whatever. I just want to allow myself to just be, as I like to be sometimes.”

– Jozef Frucek, Evolve Move Play Podcast

Do I love to play soccer or coach soccer or run or do CrossFit more than anything else? Or do I simply love to move and play?

Can I be a teacher, a coach, an athlete, an artist, an explorer, a philosopher, a lover, etc. etc. (!!) – without having to label myself as any of those things?

Can I achieve, without relying on achievement to validate my character?
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Of course I can.

We all can.

I bring this up because I’m at a point in my life where the more I think about identity, the more I realize I’d rather be labeled an enigma over anything else. An enthusiastic and compassionate one.

My previous accomplishments and failures, my resume, hell – my Instagram feed… in the grand scheme of things, all kind of irrelevant. How I live… let THAT reveal who I am and who I am becoming.

I know I’m going down a rabbit hole here, but I have to ask:

What is at the heart of drawing lines and sorting things in boxes?

How does labeling really serve us?
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For this post – I wanna address scripts and brands. And tribes.

I am obsessed with the idea of striving to live life doing things that one is naturally drawn to do. I am confused how to live that way AND make a living. Specifically – how do you live and make a living without selling yourself to a certain extent to a previously established script or brand?

Better choose the right brand, you say.

Fair enough. But this discussion isn’t over.

I wanna unpack the space between what you feel at any particular time, and how you communicate that with the rest of the world.

Is it out of obligation? Is it based on an archetypical storytelling framework that society shares/spreads/reaffirms as socially acceptable?

How can we make a living supporting the brand(s) that we genuinely believe in and embody, that is entirely dependent upon LIVING and not upon the documentation of that living?
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Oh to be a human.
We’re so flawed it’s silly! But beautiful. And fascinating.

We love to talk about the weather.
Gossip.
Say, “Be careful.”
Advise towards “safe” careers.
Incessantly justify/explain ourselves.
Break the rules (and rightfully so in many cases), but demand that others follow them.

We tell scripts that maintain the status quo over and over. Because at some point, someone just said so? Because some business survives off of our compliance to their “standard”? Because by following a script, we’re more likely to achieve “security”?

Yada yada yada. What else is trending? What are “acceptable” items to discuss? What breadth and depth is “normal” for various topics, depending on who we’re talking to? Is it “ice cream gainz” or are you just eating dessert? Is it a “rest day” or are you simply not moving strenuously today? Do you actually want to keep in touch, or did you just say that to be cordial? Do you just want to live a virtuous and fulfilling life? Right on. Can you do that without any obligation to document it?
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So who’s in your tribe?

Are you content with that tribe?

And if you are – to what extent do you really need to live and/or share life outside your tribe?
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the older I get, the more “The Inner Ring” by C.S. Lewis makes all the sense in the world to me.
(If you haven’t read it before, GOOGLE IT! You can find it for free online.)
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If we’re genuinely in the same tribe, I’ll hear your words, and you’ll hear mine. I’ll see your eyes, and you’ll see mine. We’ll experience together. And ultimately – we’ll feel much more, and speak much less.