Identity is not the problem. And identity is always strong, and has to be strong to be able to achieve great things.
We are all very vulnerable when it comes to things that are rooted deeply in our own live (read: soul). So we behave quite aggressively when someone touches these things -- especially when we have been hurt there (and who hasn't been hurt in our violent times?).
If anybody is telling me that I should keep something small, and this thing is positive by its nature (like identity), then I already know that it's wrong from the beginning, and that the real problem hasn't been discovered yet.
I think identity requires both the internalization of a belief and an emotional commitment to its truth. Paul's argument is that you should not incorporate unimportant beliefs into your identity. I suspect the "strength" of a person's identity is either unrelated to its size in these terms, or possibly even inversely related - that is, the more peripheral beliefs you have incorporated into your identity the more diffuse and weaker it is.
What about the practicality of holding strong beliefs? Is it not thebest way for you to achieve something to be imbued of the "true spirit" of that thing. Even if it is "wrong".
Nietzsche talked about a pessimism of strengh related with the Will to Power where he says that holding something true is important to achieve a certain purpose. He distinguished that from the pessimism of weakness where beliefs are hold not as a means to an end, but as an end in itself.
Having strong convictions is important, because it focus all your being in achieving this purpose that you've created for yourself.
I would rather phrase the main idea in Mr. Graham's essay not as
"keep your identity small."
but rather
"keep your identity flexible."
What you believe today might not be what you'll need to believe in order to reach a certain goal in the future.
Yes it's a form of relativism, and it requires a lot of self
discipline to avoid falling in to a kind of "it's no use", pessimistic stance, that nothing really matters. It means holding something true, even if you know it isn't true. Just make it so. Because that's the efficient and
practical thing to do.
We are all very vulnerable when it comes to things that are rooted deeply in our own live (read: soul). So we behave quite aggressively when someone touches these things -- especially when we have been hurt there (and who hasn't been hurt in our violent times?).
If anybody is telling me that I should keep something small, and this thing is positive by its nature (like identity), then I already know that it's wrong from the beginning, and that the real problem hasn't been discovered yet.
So, keep searching!