Active identity is a concept that is very important to me. The idea here is that we have many ways to be aware to our individual selves. Some of these ways are more traditional and some are more modern. The ways we choose to be aware in different areas can be a big factor in the way we live our life.
So why are we so used to being told how we should be or how we should look or how we should act? Because awareness is so important. For example, I used to be told all the time “you shouldn’t smoke pot,” and I would be expected to stop smoking pot, as well as “you shouldn’t drink alcohol,” and I would be expected to stop drinking alcohol.
I think those are pretty strong statements. A lot of times we are taught to be aware of our insecurities and our weaknesses because of the things that people will tell us that we should do. We are also often told how important it is to conform to the way people and society wants us to be, so why should we not be equally concerned with how we are.
It’s a bit harder to control your insecurities and weaknesses when you are addicted to something. The fact that they are a problem for you is just another reason to try to avoid them. However, a good portion of people are self-aware and we know what they are doing when we are on the same page. There is a difference between being aware of how you are feeling and being aware of your insecurities.
The difference is in how you are feeling, not in how you are behaving. For example, a student who is a victim of bullying, and feels like they want to be a victim but are afraid to be a bully by acting on their desires. Then these people may feel ashamed of their actions but are also aware of how they are acting and would feel horrible if they realized they had been bullies.
It’s the same with the people who are aware that they are being bullied by others. The people who are aware that they are bullied aren’t aware of what they are doing to themselves, so they might feel ashamed but they are aware they are acting out of fear, not of their own self-esteem.
I always thought that the bullies were the ones who were aware that they were being bullied by others, but that’s not entirely true. Most people are victims of bullies, so they don’t actually know that they were being bullied at all. When they do know that they were being bullied, they are usually so scared of being bullied that they just do what they do. So bullies are not always aware that they are being bullied, although that’s true in most cases.
Its easy to forget that the bullies are actually doing you harm. I think that we all know the feeling of being bullied, but we just don’t really think about it. To have a good bully you have to know that you are being bullied for real and not just because you are the victim of it. When you know it, you can really kick their ass.
This is why active identity is so important. When you bully someone, you are not only doing them harm, you are also actively doing them harm. You are forcing them to be a bully against you. In other words, when you bully someone you are forcing them to not only be a bully within your group, but to be a bully against everyone. You are forcing them to be a bully against their friends and family and against their kids.