Thought Identity

After a long wait, new thought exercises are being developed and written.
Expect new releases later this week or next!

As a hypothesis, consider that perhaps all of your identity-forming decisions are made under the influence of sentimentality. 

• Taking into consideration most of your everyday decisions, how many of them would you say are due to your tendency as a human being to be sentimental about particular items, people, customs, or behaviors you've become accustomed to in your life?
• Which of those items/people/customs/behaviors are you most sentimental about, and how do those feelings effect your decision-making processes? Do those feelings make you more or less rational in the process of making those decisions?

• Consider whatever long- and short-term goals you've made for your life. How many of them are based on sentimental feeling? How many of them are based on you being unhappy with, or, anti-sentimental(as it were) about your current living situation?  

Add your thoughts & comments below, or email them to thoughtid@gmail.com. 
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Part of what makes each person unique are the ways in which we react to extreme circumstances. With that in mind, imagine walking into a room and accidentally discovering the scene of a murder, with both the killer and the victim's body presented before you. How do you react, and what would that reaction say about you?

The purpose of this exercise is to examine your own ability to imagine such an event, filling in the details as you see fit. The number of possible reactions are numerous, though some typical actions might include attempting to stay hidden from the murderer, alerting law enforcement, attempting a citizen's arrest, trying to revive the victim, or even trying to remove yourself from the situation entirely without having any impact on its final outcome.

Be sure to consider your own tendencies in everyday life before jumping to your conclusions. Analyze:

• Do you have a tendency to avoid confrontation?
• Are you easily panicked? If so, in what ways does that panic manifest? Would those symptoms be magnified or minimized in a situation like this?
• How quickly/easily do you problem-solve in high pressure situations?
• Would you shy away from such a situation to protect your own interests/secrets?
• How often do you play the role of hero, good samaritan, or even whistle-blower in less extreme situations? Would the gravity of this situation out-weigh those tendencies?

Add your thoughts & comments below, or email them to thoughtid@gmail.com. 
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Imagine yourself developing the ability to lie much more effectively and convincingly. In what ways do you use this new-found ability as an extension of your identity?

Consider the priorities and goals you set for yourself in everyday life, and, all other mental and physical qualities being the same about you, how would the ability to lie(and get away with it) change how you live your life? Would you use this ability often, or sparingly? Would you only use it in extreme circumstances, such as matters of life and death?

Add your thoughts & comments below, or email them to thoughtid@gmail.com. 
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Music has been shown to not only entertain, but influence human behavior throughout history. In what ways does music influence your life, and by extension, your identity?

Pick a handful of your favorite(or most listened-to) songs, artists, or albums, then examine the themes represented by them, and consider the questions below:

• Do you find your behavior, decision-making, or even fashion influenced in any way by your music selections? 
• How does that music influence how you see yourself, and how others see you?
• Do you feel that you pick music as a reflection/extension/affirmation of your own identity? In other words, does your identity mostly seek music that conforms to itself, or alternatively, does the music you find and listen to mostly build/influence your identity?

Add your thoughts & comments below, or email them to thoughtid@gmail.com. 
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How do your fears influence your identity: What groups or types of people do you actively avoid, and why?

Do your best to list any and all people groups you can identify as instilling any level of phobia in you, then identify why that phobia exists. Common groups might include: criminals, people of alternate skin color, sexual preferences, religions, cultures, opposing professional interests, etc. Attempt to identify as many groups of people(even those sharing only a common, specific character trait) that you fear, then analyze how that affects your own identity.

Follow-up: Analyze ways you could potentially benefit from attempting to make and sustain social, personal, professional, or even sexual interactions with the people groups/types you fear. What impacts would those actions have on your current identity?

Add your comments below, or email them to thoughtid@gmail.com. 
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Stand in front of a mirror naked(or imagine doing so), then think of 2 things you would most like to change about your current physical body. If those changes were to happen, how would your daily life, routine, and overall identity be altered?

Think of everything from how others would react to any changes in appearance, to daily personal hygiene practices, and especially how it would alter your own internal thought identity. Would those changes make you more or less confident, insecure, comfortable, etc.?

Add your comments below, or email them to thoughtid@gmail.com. 
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If you could no longer be you, and someone else was to take over your life, picking up right where you left off with your home/job/relationships/etc., what would you want them to look like?

Try to form as detailed of an opinion as you can, keeping in mind it would have little bearing on your own future, and only a visual impact on your then-past identity.

Add your comments below, or email them to thoughtid@gmail.com. 
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If you woke up tomorrow to be a whole new you, what would you choose to be?

Think of yourself being physically & mentally the same as you are now, but creating all new circumstances for yourself to live in, including a new job/home/name/friends/hobbies and so on. 

Add your comments below, or email them to thoughtid@gmail.com. 
This site's terms of use & privacy policy applies to all submissions. 

This site/project is all about collective thought on individual identity. 

In other words, check out this site and follow on twitter for thought exercises and mental challenges about the concept of identity, both your own and those around you. Add comments online via this site, or email your thoughts on any given exercise/challenge to us at thoughtid@gmail.com. 

The goal here is to create intriguing, thought-provoking exercises and dialogue, creating a community of people interested in furthering the discussion of what elements constitute an individual's identity in our modern age. Got an idea for an upcoming exercise or challenge? Email it to the address above! 

THOUGHT IDENTITY
@ThoughtIdentity
thoughtid.posterous.com 

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