We wear many “hats” throughout life. We label these to connect with who we are and how we contribute to both ourselves and others. My hats include: parent, spouse, daughter, sister, friend, blogger, mentor, worker, business owner, musician, positive thinker, adviser... there are plenty more, but you get the idea.
Have you accumulated many hats? Some I am very happy to wear, others don’t seem to be all that stylish anymore, perhaps I still quietly love though, and some are old and worn out.
Hats can be put on us by others whether we like them or not, such as the “quiet achiever”, “class clown” or “life of the party” hats or the teasing kind with a hint (or more) of meanness attached, such as “the black sheep” hat, or a more recent phenomenon, the “Karen” hat. How we show up for people shapes which hat they see us wearing.
When trying out a new hat (e.g. for personal growth, performance at work or something else) it can be really hard to shake people’s current view of us to see the new hat, due to unconscious bias. It can take some time and a lot of effort to shift others’ views of our ‘new’ hat/s, sometimes to no avail, and therefore can be the driver to choose a new job or work setting instead, for a ‘fresh start’.
Taking off a work hat can be tricky, especially if it is to retire, so maybe finding a new way to wear it is all that is needed.
Anna’s Positive Hat came about from consciously choosing to try a new hat, for the same end goal – to help others. A Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology provides the evidence based research to draw on, that can support others proactively in life. There are many tools to improve our self-awareness, headspace, mindset, sense of who we are in this world, we sometimes just need these to be pointed out to us.
Knowing which hat to put on when a new (or even a familiar) challenge comes our way can be a fine art – do we opt for the trusty ‘go-to’ hats or try on a different one just to see what happens?