"I think I might start playing with how I introduce myself," a coaching client said today. "Is that sociopathic?"

"Far from it," I replied. "It's exactly how we forge our identity."

I personally changed my verbal self-description *years* before I made my big career change from full-time higher ed faculty member to full-time business owner/coach, from "I teach at Bates, and I do some career coaching" to "I run a career coaching practice and teach at Bates."

The shift was subtle but it enabled me to:

- examine and address my self-reaction and hesitations (a "practice"? really?)
- observe others' responses (oh, they're actually *intrigued* not disgusted by the "practice"? "coaching" isn't too "woo woo"?)
- and, most importantly, begin to live into my aspired vocational identity - before I committed to it!

It's interesting that we don't bat an eye when teenagers morph in front of our eyes on a weekly, daily or even hourly basis with an ever-changing parade of clothing styles, songs/genres, and friends they adore. Yet we pause when we as adults feel the need to change how we present to the world. Like, "what's wrong with us?"

We're simply undergoing the same identity development process that we go through in adolescence. We live for FAR too many decades to remain statically the same person!

And, yes, playing with our language about ourselves is often a first step to making physical change in our careers, actions, and lives. There's nothing "odd" about it.

So if you're considering leaning into a part of your work that's been less emphasized, or a skillset that's been undervalued (by you and/or others!), try describing yourself in a new way and see how it feels. A whole new identity may, over time, result.