Chainfeeds Guide:
The best founders often demonstrate an extremely low attachment to identity.
Article Source:
https://x.com/YettaSing/status/1912848522149577205
Article Author:
YettaS
Perspective:
YettaS: We greatly admire a type of founder who has a firm sense of direction without being constrained by self-labels; who can both stick to their beliefs and flexibly adjust; who have high self-esteem without narcissistic self-importance. This might sound like an idealized persona, but behind it is a very clear psychological structure - Low Ego. They have a very clear but relaxed grasp of "who they are". The entrepreneurs we want to support are those who can defend viewpoints, not themselves. How to observe? In the process of communicating with founders, we not only listen to their vision and look at their resume, but also repeatedly explore a core question: how they define themselves. Technical routes, industry labels, personal backgrounds - these elements are fine in themselves, but once viewed by founders as part of their "identity", they easily form cognitive path dependencies. They no longer judge right or wrong, but merely defend "this is who I am". When beliefs are challenged, they are more focused on defending "I am right". Labels should be tools for external communication, used to help others quickly identify your position, profession, background, or value proposition. It is a socialized symbol system, convenient for classification and easy to spread. But for many, labels gradually become distorted into pillars of internal self-construction. Behind this lies a deep fear of "self-collapse". In the past, a person's identity was structured and definitive. Who you are depended on where you came from, what you believed in, what profession you pursued. These pieces of information constituted a stable social order and source of self-perception. But today, with the decentralization of geography, profession, and values, individuals must actively "construct who they are". Thus, labels become the most convenient alternative, providing a seemingly certain psychological illusion. You just need to say "I am a tech geek", "I am a libertarian", "I am from a certain university", and you can quickly gain others' understanding, recognition, and even praise. This instant identity feedback, like dopamine, reinforces people's dependence on labels. Over time, labels are no longer tools but substitutes for self. Therefore, those lacking internal order and stable structure are more likely to use labels as psychological supports. They might repeatedly emphasize statements that sound like experiences, and the true function of these statements is not to communicate information, but to serve as dependencies for constructing self-perception and anchors of existence. They continuously emphasize their identity positioning, constantly defend existing stances, and refuse cognitive correction - not because they truly believe in a viewpoint, but because if the label wavers, the entire illusion of "self" will collapse. They are not protecting facts but protecting the "self" pieced together from external evaluations. The best founders often demonstrate an extremely low attachment to identity. This is not because they lack self, but because they possess a highly integrated, stable sense of internal order. Their self-identity does not depend on external attachments like "elite school background", "endorsement by star investors", or "certain industry labels", but is rooted in an internal capability structure: insight into the world, psychological resilience facing uncertainty, and the ability to continuously correct their own model in dynamic environments. They do not treat stances, viewpoints, or role labels as anchors of self-worth. On the contrary, the stronger the sense of identity, the more likely thoughts are to be constrained by it. When you fear "overturning your past self", you begin to build cognitive walls and limits. You become more concerned with how others evaluate your "consistency" rather than whether your judgment today is correct. Thus, you start finding reasons for your old viewpoints instead of seeking solutions for reality. This is the most dangerous blind spot in strategic judgment. True cognitive evolution begins precisely by acknowledging "I am not what I said in the past". A mentally free individual does not need to say "I am X type but also understand Y", but completely lets go of the psychological dependence that "I must be X type". They can change without anxiety, update without fear. Only when you no longer rely on labels to stabilize self-cognition and truly have an internal sense of control over "who you are" can you loosen attachments, escape roles, and enter a free thinking space. Perhaps this is the starting point of the Buddhist concept of "non-self": not to dissolve existence, but to prevent cognition and action from being hijacked by self.
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