2. Identity in Practice: Reflection and Discovery

Reflection is used for discovery rather than evaluation.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll receive a series of posts designed to introduce you to Creative Agency as a framework for sustaining your work as a family history content creator. If you would like to read the book, Creative Agency: How Family History Content Creators Can Navigate Creative Difficulty and Build Lasting Capacity or access the Creative Agency Playbook, the Notion System Template as you go through this series, you can find it at https://www.genstack.org/shop.

Last week, we started with a simple question: Who are you as a steward of family stories? This week, we are going to work that question more deliberately through reflection and discovery.

If you are thinking “I already know who I am,” that is fair. But here is what happens when you actually pause to examine it: you discover that some of the standards you are holding yourself to are not yours. Some of the pressure you are carrying does not actually align with what matters to you. Some of the ways you have been working are responding to external expectations rather than internal clarity.

This is not about finding the perfect identity. It is about understanding the one you already have so you can work with it instead of against it.

Why Reflection Matters

The book tells us: “When creators act in ways that conflict with their standards, whether due to time pressure, comparison, or external expectations, creative work becomes heavier and more difficult to sustain.”

Read that again. The work becomes heavier not because you lack skill or commitment, but because what you are doing conflicts with who you are.

This is why reflection matters. It helps you see where the conflicts are showing up so you can address them before they drain all your energy.

Reflection is Discovery, Not Evaluation

The Playbook offers this important reminder: “Reflection is used for discovery rather than evaluation.”

You are not reflecting to judge whether your identity is good enough. You are reflecting to discover what is actually there. What do you value? What matters to you? What does integrity look like in your work?

These questions do not have right or wrong answers. They have your answers. And the goal is simply to name them clearly enough that they can guide your decisions.

Reflection Prompts to Work With

Here are some prompts to help you move from general awareness to specific clarity. You do not need to answer all of them at once. Pick one or two that feel relevant and spend some time with them.

About your values:

What do I care about most when I am preserving family stories?

When have I felt proud of my work? What made that moment feel aligned?

What would I never compromise in this work, even if it slowed me down or reduced my output?

About your standards:

What does “good enough” look like for me when I publish a family story?

Am I holding myself to standards that fit the work I am actually doing, or standards borrowed from a different kind of work?

If a trusted peer published the same piece I am hesitating over, would I judge it as harshly as I judge my own?

About misalignment:

When does my work feel heavy in a way that signals misalignment rather than productive challenge?

What commitments have I made that do not actually fit who I am as a steward?

Where am I trying to work like someone else instead of working like myself?

What You Might Discover

When you work through these prompts, you might discover things like:

You have been trying to publish weekly because you think you should, but what you actually value is depth, and weekly publishing makes depth impossible for you.

You have been avoiding writing about certain ancestors because you are holding yourself to an academic standard of certainty, but what you actually value is honoring their lives even when the record is incomplete.

You have been comparing your work to creators who have different goals, different resources, and different values, and that comparison has been making you feel inadequate instead of helping you grow.

These discoveries are not failures. They are information. They tell you where to make adjustments so your work can feel more aligned.

Moving from Reflection to Action

Once you have clarity about your identity, you can start making decisions that fit. You can design a publishing rhythm that honors your values. You can set standards that are appropriate for the work you are doing. You can stop trying to be someone you are not.

The book reminds us that Creative Agency is built through “small, repeated cycles of recognition, reflection, and response.” This is the reflection part. You are naming what is true about you so that when challenges arise, you know how to respond in a way that preserves who you are.

Take Action This Week

Choose two or three reflection prompts from the list above. Sit with them. Write down what comes up. You do not need elegant answers. You just need honest ones.

If you discover misalignment, do not try to fix everything at once. Just notice it. Name it. Write it down. That awareness is the first step toward making changes that will actually help.

Next week, we will move into Vision. Once you know who you are, the next question becomes: What are you actually building? Where is this work going? Vision gives your daily decisions direction so you are not just working hard, but working toward something that matters to you.

Join the GenStack Coterie

This framework is most powerful when you have support to work it in practice. The GenStack Coterie provides the structure, community, and guidance to help you navigate Creative Agency over time.

Inside the Coterie, you will find:

• The Creative Agency Playbook as a working system in Notion

• Guided support for recognizing which Domain needs attention and choosing the right Strategy

• A collaborative space to share what you are learning and receive feedback from others doing this work

• Ongoing resources that help you sustain your creative practice across seasons

Creative Agency is not meant to be navigated alone. It strengthens through practice, reflection, and the support of others who understand the particular challenges of family history content creation.

If you are ready to continue this work with structure and community, learn more about the GenStack Coterie at www.genstack.org.

The Playbook is waiting. The path is clear. And the community is here when you are ready to take the next step.

References

Book: Creative Agency, Chapter 5 (The Domains) and Chapter 9 (Values in Action)

Playbook: P L A Y B O O K, Identity and Values reflection sections