Knowing Who You Really Are

I recently discovered a children’s book from 1946: “The Bear That Wasn’t.”

A bear hibernates, and a factory gets built over his cave.

When he wakes up, everyone, from the foreman to the CEO tells him, “You’re not a bear. You’re a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat.”

He’s so overwhelmed by their certainty that he starts to believe them.
He gets a job on the factory floor, and feels miserable. He forgets he’s a bear.
Until one day he decides to get back to the cave, and re-discovers that he’s a bear.

This story has a beautiful analogy because I had moments in my life where I felt like that bear.

The factory is a metaphor for all the expectations: what a leader should look like, how a manager should act, the unspoken rules.

You start performing the role of the “silly person in a fur coat” because everyone expects it.

But leading from that place is not sustainable, it’s exhausting, and everyone can feel the disconnect.

The challenge isn’t meeting every expectation. It’s knowing who you are, knowing your own values and acting in line with them, even when it’s loud outside.

What is a question that helps you remember who you are?