"Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth."

Trying to pin down who you are is about as impossible as trying to chomp on your own teeth. It’s a mind-bender. The core idea here is that the act of defining yourself is inherently tricky because the self is constantly changing and can't easily be boxed into a neat definition. Just when you think you've got it figured out, something shifts. You learn something new, you grow, your perspectives change, and suddenly the definition you had doesn’t quite fit anymore.

Imagine you're at a point in your life where you're trying to figure out who you are. Maybe you just graduated, and you're stepping into the world with your degree. You think, "I'm a fresh graduate, ready to take on the world!" But then you land your first job, and maybe it’s not what you expected. Your role evolves, your interests shift, and so does your sense of self. Suddenly, you're not just a graduate—you're a professional, a team player, perhaps even a mentor to someone newer.

Let’s talk about a real-life example. Take David Bowie, the legendary musician. Bowie constantly reinvented himself through his career. Was he Ziggy Stardust? The Thin White Duke? Or just David Jones from Brixton? He never stayed the same, always evolving his music, his image, his persona. If Bowie had tried to stick to one definition of himself, he'd have missed out on all those incredible transformations. He embraced the fluidity of identity, showing us that it’s okay—actually, it’s fantastic—to change.

So, how can you apply this wisdom to your life? Start by letting go of the pressure to have a set-in-stone definition of who you are. Allow yourself to be fluid. Embrace change. When you feel yourself growing in new directions, don't resist it. Dive in. Explore new interests, skills, and aspects of your personality. It's all part of the journey of self-discovery.

Think about a scenario. Picture Jane, a marketing executive. She’s always defined herself by her job. But one day, she starts painting as a hobby. She realizes she loves it—loses herself in it for hours. She’s no longer just Jane, the marketing exec. She’s Jane, the artist. By embracing this new part of herself, she finds joy and fulfillment she never knew she was missing. If she had stuck rigidly to her original self-definition, she'd have missed out on a whole new dimension of her identity.

In short, don’t stress too much over trying to wrap yourself up in a tidy little box of ‘this is me’. Life is messy, unpredictable, and constantly in flux—just like you. The beauty lies in the journey of discovering who you are, over and over again. So, next time you find yourself grappling with the question of identity, remember: you’re a work in progress, and that’s more than okay. Embrace it, and see where it takes you.