Four sources of identity combine to influence your mojo--that positive spirit that starts from the inside and radiates to the outside. 

1. Remembered identity. You remember life events that helped form your sense of self. But the farther you go back into your past, the greater the chances that your remembered identity won’t match who you are today. We have all made mistakes in our past, but those errors do not necessarily pinpoint who we are now. 

2. Reflected identity. This is where the past and other people’s opinions meet. Other people remember events in your past, and they remind you of them, sometimes via feedback. Since I rely on feedback to help people change for the better, I would never disparage its value, but not all feedback is offered in good faith or in the most forgiving spirit. Even if your reflected identity is accurately descriptive of your past, it doesn’t have to be predictive. You can change. 

3. Programmed identity. This is the result of people sending messages about who you are or will become. This identity has many sources. It can be influenced by your profession, the culture you grew up in, or the people you select as friends. Each can shape your opinion of yourself, but this can also become a convenient scape-goat for your behavioral mistakes. 

4. Created identity. This is the part of your identity not controlled by your past or by other people. If you view your identity as fixed, you’ll likely never try to create a new one. You become paralyzed when you create self-limiting definitions of who you are. When you define yourself by saying you are deficient at something, you tend to create the reality that proves your definition. Yes, you have real physical, environmental or mental limitations that you may never overcome (you can’t wish physical reality away with positive thinking), but you can change much if you do not artificially limit yourself. 

Review the components of your current identity. Where did they originate? Then, review them in the context of who you are today and who you would like to become in the future. If your present identity is fine with you, work on becoming a better version of who you are. If you want to make a change in your identity, you may be able to change more than you think. Assuming you do not have incurable or unchangeable limitations, you can create a new identity for your future, without sacrificing your past. 

Four More Tips 

1.	Stop trying to prove how smart you are. Effective leaders sacrifice the fleeting buzz of needing to be smart for the more valuable feeling of being effective--of delivering on time, of bringing out the best in others, of finding the simplest route to a solution. 
2.	Measure your mojo. When you measure your mojo--a positive, powerful spirit that starts inside and radiates outside--you must do so in the present. As a leader, you can’t assume the spirit you feel is the spirit you show. You need to ensure that your positive emotions are communicated, and this may take more effort than the activity itself. 

3.	Repair a damaged reputation. Reputation doesn’t happen over night--one event can’t form your reputation and one corrective gesture can’t reform it. You need many consistent, similar actions to begin the rebuilding process. With leaders who have clear, positive reputations, consistency is often their primary virtue.  

4.	Overcome inertia. As much as we claim to want happiness and meaning in our lives, I find that our default response in life is inertia--to do more of what we’re already doing. Hence, the most reliable predictor of what you will be doing in five minutes is what you are doing now. Inertia has a paralyzing effect on every aspect of your life--not just the mindless routines, but things that really matter, such as the level of happiness and meaning in your life. 

To achieve positive change, you may need a manager or coach to follow up on what you initiate; however, you can also try this. Evaluate your daily activity on a 1 to 10 scale on two questions: 1) How much long-term benefit or meaning did I experience from this activity? And 2) How much short-term satisfaction or happiness did I experience in this activity? There are no right answers. No one can answer the questions for you. It’s your experience of happiness and meaning. When you know all of your activities will be evaluated on these two questions, you experience more happiness and meaning in each activity and you have a happier and more meaningful life.

《Leadership Excellence》 2012.11