Know who you are before you perform.
Identity is the ground everything else is built on.
Performance becomes dangerous when you use achievement to answer the question of who you are. Identity has to come before performance — not be built out of it.
Why It Matters
If your identity is your achievement, then every failure is an identity crisis. You can't build a stable life on top of a question you haven't answered.
My Perspective
I learned this the hard way. I used achievement to answer who I was, and the moment the achievement wavered, the person did too. Identity had to come first.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
Stop asking achievement to give you an identity it was never designed to provide. Answer the question of who you are before you prove what you can do.
The Identity Statement
I know who I am before I prove what I can do.
Performance is what you do. Identity is who you are.
Don't build a successful life on top of an identity you don't believe in.
Know who you are before you perform.
What makes me feel valuable?
What happens to me when I fail?
Whose approval am I chasing?
Who am I without my achievements?
Excellence
Excellence is a form of worship.