Principlev1
During identity transitions, construct and inhabit
During identity transitions, construct and inhabit provisional selves experimentally rather than waiting to discover your 'true identity' before acting, allowing identity to emerge from behavior rather than dictating behavior from identity.
Why This Is a Principle
This principle follows from Cognitive Defusion: Thoughts Are Objects (thoughts as separable objects), Constructivist Epistemology (knowledge as actively constructed), and Human beings construct identity through ongoing narrative (narrative identity construction). It prescribes an experimental, action-first approach to identity change grounded in Ibarra's working identity research. The principle is actionable (try on identities through behavior) and applies across career, personal, and social identity transitions.