What does your brand stand for?
No, I don’t mean your brand as in your company’s brand or your brand as a professional offering services.
I mean your brand as a human being – a brand you probably didn’t realize you had and surely the most important one in your life.
Brand is just a fancy word for the unique set of characteristics, values, behaviors, and stories people associate with you and the respective feelings those evoke in them, including how they feel in your presence. Whether you realize it or not, you do have a brand as a human.
In Franklian psychology, we talk about our uniqueness, about the fact that we’re all irreplaceable for someone in our lives, even if that is just one person. Why? Because no one else can relate to them the exact same way we can, no one can make them feel the exact same way we do, no one has the exact same presence we have. This may be because of our unique sense of humour, unorthodox outlook on life, quirkiness or how relaxed or happy we make people feel simply by being us – the energy we carry.
Let’s make this more tangible. Think of a family member of yours. What are your associations with that person? List them, put them down on paper. Now think of a friend of yours, what associations do you make with that person? List those too. How does each of these people make you feel?
You see, whoever you take as an example, what you will discover is that you associate that person with a list of adjectives and they make you feel a certain way no one else can.
The same is true for you. Have you ever thought about what you stand for in the minds of others? If not, I’d say this is a good exercise to try. Not because you would want to create a fancy brand for yourself and live as a fake person to fit into it – that’s probably not even possible.
But because, when you see what you represent for others, you may discover you could be living a better version of yourself (and it’s never too late for that!) or even better – you could get a glimpse into your super powers – what you naturally bring to others, what your gifts are, maybe even what your calling is.
Equally valuable, you may see traits within yourself or habits of behavior which hinder you or you don’t want to be associated with because you actually dislike. I’ll never forget years ago, when a friend of mine started gently teasing me for my constant moaning about the smallest inconveniences. I had never noticed that within myself and when it was brought to my attention I immediately realized I didn’t want to be that person. If I had chosen consciously, I would have rather chosen to be associated with the Stoics – funny enough. That was something I could change.
So think about what you represent for others and what you want to represent also. Are you being the best version of yourself? Then take the exercise to another level and just ask people. Ask your loved ones for 5 adjectives, 5 behaviors, 5 values and 5 stories they associate with you. I guarantee you will be surprised. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad.
Viktor Frankl used to say Each deed is its own monument – in other words, we’re remembered for what we do in the world.
But, in reality, it’s not just the deeds we’re remembered for. We’re remembered for who we were as a person altogether, for what we stood for. This is the legacy we’ll certainly leave and the example we’re setting for others continuously. That in itself is a super power we all have, the power to influence others – as we do anyway whether we see it or not.
So the question is, who do you want to be for others, and are you being the best version of yourself, one you can be proud of. Ultimately, while you’re alive, it is within your power to shape your legacy. .
There’s a tremendous power in deciding just that if nothing else, power that is within your reach today.