Identity Unveiled w/ Jen Banks

Exploring Identity Through an Acrostic Poem

In this episode, Jen Banks announces she is writing a book titled 'Let Yourself Bloom' set to release in September and hints at an upcoming rebrand. The episode's primary focus is on identity, particularly for mothers trying to maintain their own identity through motherhood. Using the acrostic poem format with the word 'IDENTITY,' each letter is used to highlight an aspect of personal identity such as being Individual, Dynamic, incorporating Everything about you, the concept of Neutrality in self-worth, your Talents, viewing yourself through an Inherent Lens, understanding your Tastes and preferences, and how all of these elements make up You. Jen encourages listeners to reflect on their identities, understand their values, and consider writing their own acrostic poem using their name to explore what makes them unique. The episode wraps up with a thank you to the executive producer and a reminder to check out other podcasts in the network.

00:00 Welcome to My World: Book Writing and Rebranding 00:46 Diving Into Identity: An Acrostic Poem Journey 01:51 Exploring the Layers of Identity Through Poetry 07:34 Reflecting on Personal Growth and Relationships 08:56 Homework Assignment: Crafting Your Own Identity Poem 09:56 Gratitude and Acknowledgments

#Podcast #Identity #SelfCare #SelfLove #Empowerment #Motivation #Authenticity #SelfDiscovery

Episode Transcript

(00:22):
Hey, hey, if you're listeningto this episode, that means I
am currently writing a book.
Oh, I hope it's going and that futureJen is just having a great old time.
Again, my book is called LetYourself Bloom and it will
be coming out in September.
I am so excited.
I am going to be going through arebrand and more details will follow.

(00:46):
In today's episode I wantedto do a little acrostic poem.
It's been a while since I've doneone of those and I really love them.
I'm a word nerd and so I'm going tobe going through the word identity
and each letter will correspondto an aspect of our identity.
As you know this season's theme isall about identity and specifically

(01:08):
helping moms maintain theiridentity throughout motherhood.
I feel like it's so important to not evenlet your interests and your personality
and all of those things go to theback burner for very long, if at all.
You are an individual too, and yourdreams, goals, and passions matter
just as much as your children.

(01:28):
And I know it takes a little bit morework and finagling to keep your interests
and personality and identity alive.
throughout that time,but it's so important.
Even if it goes a little dormant for awhile, it's still there and there are
ways and seasons and times that we cannurture it, but it can be done throughout.

(01:48):
It just may be more at times than others.
So for identity, the Istands for individual.
No one else has the exact samecombination of interests and makeup
and likes, dislikes, body size.
Fingerprints, all of those things.

(02:08):
Your identity is you as an individual.
It is so unique and it's really coolthat there's no two people exactly alike.
There might be similarities.
There might be a lot of commonalities,even with twins, no two people are alike.
So I love that we are so individual.
It's really cool to bethe only you on the world.

(02:30):
D stands for dynamic.
Your identity is dynamic.
It's not static.
It's dynamic.
It's always changing.
We're always working on it.
And while there are certain phasesof life that you might focus
more on your identity, like youradolescence, it's always changing.
You can always be adapting and figuringout what makes you you and what you love.

(02:55):
Our identities especially changeafter a big life event, after
having a baby, after moving.
After losing a job or becoming a parent,so many things can alter your identity.
E stands for everything about you.

(03:15):
Everything about you is your identity.
It's almost like your personal brand.
Who you are, how you show up, what peoplethink of when they're with you, how
they feel, what you bring to the table.
All of those things make up your identity.
N stands for neutral.
And what I mean by that is you'renot better than another person and

(03:38):
you're not worse than another person.
We all have the exact samevalue or the exact same worth.
We're not better or worse than another.
That worth came with us when we were born.
And again, it doesn'tincrease or decrease.
We just are so valuable as humans.
And.
Everyone has that same value.
No one is less than or better than.

(04:00):
T stands for talent, skills, abilities,hobbies, all of those things that
you find interesting and that youlove or come naturally to you, that
is part of your identity and I'm soglad that all of us have different
talents and interests and abilitiesbecause that's why we need each other.
We need the different perspectivesand talents and the ways that people

(04:22):
come so that we can work together.
And how boring would it be ifwe were all exactly the same?
It is fun now and then to findother people that have the same
interests, but again, even withinthose interests there is uniqueness.
I stands for InherentLens versus Derived Lens.

(04:44):
And your Inherent Lens is theway that you see yourself.
It's the way that you look atyour value and your self worth.
It's always the same.
Kind of like what I wastalking about with neutrality.
Your derived lens though, is howyou think other people see you and

(05:05):
it changes based on circumstance,who you're with and what's going on.
It's healthiest to stay in our inherentlens because we know our true worth and
value and what makes us, us, but otherpeople put on judgment or they have
layers of expectations or assumptions.

(05:27):
And when we.
Our viewing ourself through our derivedlens, we might not see ourselves as
worthy or we might think that we shoulddo something or that causes guilt.
To figure out how to use yourinherent lens, a good way is to
think about a time when you feltlike you were on top of the world.

(05:50):
You had it together.
You felt like your truest self.
A time for me was when I went to college.
I felt like I could justportray myself who I was.
And I had a blank slate to work through.
Other times in my life, I've gottenbogged down with who I'm with and
what's going on and comparing myself.
And that's not fun.

(06:11):
It's much better and empowering tolook at ourself from our inherent lens.
And the more we can do that,the more empowered we'll feel.
And so if you notice yourself usingyour derived lens, just gently bring
yourself back to your inherent lens.
T is for tastes, preferences, and values.
A lot of us.
have figured out ourvalues and others have not.

(06:33):
Once you know your values, youhave a clearer picture of what,
why you do the things that you do,what you are drawn to, what makes
you tick, and all of those things.
It's, it's a good indicator of how tospend your time and resources and money
like we talked about last episode.
This is our, even down to our Flavorprofiles and our sexual drive.

(06:59):
These are all things thatmake us unique as well.
And the last one, letterY, stands for you.
Your identity is you, bothinternally and externally.
The things that are going inside Yourhead, the things that are going on outside
the world, what you look like, what yourphysical makeup is, the things that you

(07:23):
have learned, your experiences, yourunique perspective and take on the world.
That makes you, you.
There's a quote that I love thatsays, love requires falling in love.
Over and over again, hopefullywith the same person.
And this reminds me a lot of our identity.

(07:46):
We are different people.
We change all the time.
And hopefully each time we fall inlove again and again with ourself.
And it's tricky that we keep changingbecause hopefully our spouse is
along for the ride if we have one.
And if not, then.
We can move on from that relationship,but it's beautiful to see how you

(08:08):
can grow yourself and see yourspouse grow and how you can see
yourself grow together as a couple.
I know that my husband and I are differentpeople than when we first got married
and our relationship is different.
It's better than it was, I would say, butnot that it was ever bad or different.

(08:29):
It was just not the same as it is now.
Yeah.
So that is my acrostic poem.
I'll just go throughthem again one more time.
I is for Individual, D is forDynamic, E is for Everything About
You, N is for Neutral, T is forTalents, I is for Inherent Lens,

(08:50):
T is for Tastes, and Y is for You.
If you want, for your homework, youcould write an acrostic poem of your
name, like we've done in elementaryschool, I'm sure, many times, and you
can write some things that make you you.
Reflect on what things you like todo for self care, what things you
like to eat, what things you liketo do outside, inside, ways you

(09:15):
like to fill your cup, or celebrate.
All of those things are your identity.
I encourage you as wellto figure out your values.
A good range is three to fivevalues that you can recall
often to guide your choices.
There's many resources onlineto figure out your values.

(09:38):
I like the Find YourValues deck on Amazon.
It's a deck of cards that you can sortand figure out what words resonate.
And there are many other ways too.
Brene Brown has a list of hundredvalues from her book Dare to Be.
And, yeah, have fun being you.
I'm glad you're you, and I'm glad I'm me.
And I will talk to you again next week.

(10:00):
Bye!
Thank you as always to Blane fromRide the Wave Media for the executive
production of this episode and allthe episodes on A's for Adversity.
Check out the other podcasts onRide the Wave Media Network, and
I will talk to you next week.
Bye!