Trying to establish who we are may be the very thing that wears us down, Jason Gregory said in a post on LinkedIn.

“Trying to be an identity, and the most prevalent identity, is exhausting. The chase and the hunt kill our innocence slowly but surely,” wrote Gregory.” We are anxiously trying to establish our identities, our worth, and the irony is that the identity itself is a ghost.”

Gregory tied this reflection to the Taoist concept of wu-wei, or effortless action. He cited Chuang-tzu, who taught that by resting in the shade and ceasing to strive, one’s sense of self—and its accompanying suffering—would dissolve.

In the post, Gregory argued that modern socialization conditions people to seek visibility and validation, even at the cost of their peace. He wrote that “the accepted way of leaving the biggest footprint behind only causes you harm and harm to others.”

Jason Gregory is a philosopher, writer, and teacher known for exploring Eastern wisdom and spiritual freedom. His upcoming book is titled The Tradition of Natural Taoism.