A dozen ways to build Identity Capital:

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Dr. Meg Jay, author of “The Defining Decade,” borrowed the term Identity Capital from socioligist ames Côté to describe the task of becoming yourself:

“Identity capital is our collection of personal assets. It is the repertoire of individual resources that we assemble over time. These are the investments we make in ourselves, the things we do well enough, or long enough, that they become a part of who we are. Some identity capital goes on a résumé, such as degrees, jobs, test scores, and clubs. Other identity capital is more personal, such as how we speak, where we are from, how we solve problems, how we look. Identity capital is how we build ourselves—bit by bit, over time.”

 

Her Ted Talk is well worth the view:

I am struck by the idea of building one’s identity and how it can relate to leveraging one’s strengths. Inspired by Nicole Booz’s excellent list in Gen Twenty, I have crafted one aimed more specifically for high school students. I borrow heavily from her list, so credit is really due to her. I reorgnaized them so my list only has a dozen items. 

Here are more than a dozen ways to build Identity Capital:

  1. Identify goals you want to achieve in the next month.
  2. Give back to a cause that matters to you by volunteering your time.
  3. Keep your resume up to date.
  4. Spend quality time with people you consider family.
  5. Ask for more responsibility in one of your clubs.
  6. Learn something new such as:
    1. Read books from multiple genres.
    2. Learn a new skill; practice it for six months.
    3. Listen to TED talks and podcasts for inspiration.
    4. Learn a new technique for something you already know how to do.
    5. Attend a workshop for something you’d like to know more about.
    6. Learn a new language.
  7. Practice strong resiliency skills
    1. Avoid comparing yourself to others.
    2. Identify your natural talents.
    3. Stop doing things you don’t truly enjoy.
    4. Eliminate time-sucks in your life that aren’t productive.
    5. Stop procrastinating.
    6. Make a commitment and see it through.
  8. Keep a gratitude journal.
  9. What the heck:
    1. At least once a month, try something you’ve never done before.
    2. Cook your way through a professional cookbook.
    3. Take a break from social media.
    4. Spend a weekend cleaning out your closet and de-cluttering your home.
    5. Wake up and start your day earlier.
    6. Go for a hike and spend time outdoors.
    7. Go to the ballet, opera, or a show.
    8. Do something you’ve always been afraid to.
    9. Plan a vacation to a destination filled with history.
    10. Dedicate a few hours each week to a hobby that you enjoy.
    11. Set a fitness goal and work to achieve it.
  10. Schedule a meeting with one of your teachers and ask for feedback.
  11. Engage deeply in some sort of personal expression or creative project such as:
    1. Try your hand at a Pinterest DIY project.
    2. Start a scrapbook.
    3. Learn calligraphy.
    4. Start a collection of something you enjoy.
    5. Try your hand at writing a novel.
    6. Start a blog and connect with like-minded individuals.
  12. Dream big:
    1. Make a https://www.bucketlist.org/ for the year; actively work to check off the boxes.
    2. Map out what your dream career path looks like from beginning to retirement.
    3. Write a letter to 80-year old you. What do you hope to have achieved by then?
    4. Allow yourself to daydream about who you want to be… then go be it.

 Shoutout to Eric for pointing me to the book the Defining Decade.