Understanding Employee Identity Transformation as a Process
Western self-help culture, along with some corporate training and consulting practices, often promotes the idea of near-immediate personal transformation. At a fundamental level, such rapid transformation is rarely possible. What is possible — even if only momentarily — is a change in life direction: the establishment of a decisive point in time from which one’s trajectory begins to shift.
In this article, we explain individual identity transformation through Axiomatological intervention. These principles form the foundation of Axiomatological therapy as well as self-directed therapeutic work grounded in the Axiomatological approach. We first outline the core concepts of the method and then describe the process of identity transformation as understood within the framework of Axiomatology.
Conventional Approaches to Identity Transformation
Western Self-Help Utopia
When it comes to identity transformation, many therapeutic interventions, as well as conventional self-help approaches—especially within the Western industry—have a strong focus on the verbal redefinition of one’s identity. The purely linguistic and rather simplistic idea of stating, “I am... (something desired),” is often presented as a key approach that supposedly holds therapeutic merit or acts as a catalyst for transformation.
In many cases, such statements are intended to be chanted in groups or repeated systematically by oneself in the form of incantations or affirmations. Some approaches tie this to the notion of “programming one’s brain,” with the claim that this will lead to “thinking differently,” and through that, behaving differently.
If such “truths” and (partially) subconscious brain reprogramming strategies are presented convincingly—especially with a well-thought-out setup and carefully designed materials—they can seem persuasive. People often listen with interest and embark on such endeavors with significant positive energy and hopefulness.
However, identity transformation through such practically instant interventions is exceptionally rare. It fails miserably even in the simplest cases (such as overeating, habit change, improving physical fitness, etc.) and approaches absurdity when applied to more complex issues like addictions.
As a mental exercise, one can simply test this: attempt to “put upon oneself” multiple positive habits, abilities, or even financial wealth through verbal declarations alone. Predictably, such efforts collapse. Although these programs often emphasize the need for behavioral transformation as well, and are not always phrased so simplistically, the core idea remains the same.
Eastern Peace and Redefinition of Agency
A sort of opposite approach can be found in many Western adaptations of Eastern philosophies. This cultural wave had its heyday some years ago, when mindfulness, the "yoga-mafia," Western mysticism, neo-neo-Taoism, and various other derivatives of Hinduistic, Buddhistic, and similar traditional philosophies practically dominated the "identity transformation" culture.
These approaches had a similar "positive lure and attraction" due to their mystic completeness. Everything seems to make sense at first: there is an explanation for the Big Bang (as "everything is one"); there is no need for God in the traditional sense (because everything already happens "inside" God); the self is an illusion; and the progression of the universe is portrayed as an automatic revelation, requiring minimal personal participation.
Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle have become idols to many ideologically possessed popularizers, who treat their material much like some scholars treat the writings of Lenin, Marx, Foucault, or Derrida—and something extraordinary takes place: the impossible becomes possible. An ideology where "everything is permitted" becomes a dogma.
A typical icon—and in many ways a Western idol of such derivatives—is a handsome, well-groomed man in his 40s or 50s (often with an undefined age), who delivers well-phrased and fluent "thought-bombs" perfectly tailored for TikTok or similar social media formats. Most of these statements revolve around gratitude, oneness, the idea that the ego is the source of all problems, the belief that love, freedom, and enjoyment of life are ultimate goals, and the celebration of the eternal soul. In simple words: if an all-permitting ideology becomes dogmatic, then a paradoxical self-defeating element is built into it.
When it comes to identity transformation, many such approaches do not seek to develop or transform subjective identity at all. Rather, they aim to distance the individual from their subjective identity entirely. If one is not satisfied with life, the explanation often appeals to "karma-debt" from previous lives—sometimes proposing that a person must now pay for having been, for example, a prison guard at Auschwitz. Every question is answered, often resulting in tantric freedom or psychological detachment.
However, when it comes to truly transforming one's identity, these approaches—as an all-inclusive corpus—may provide temporary relief, but they do not produce transformations comparable to Axiomatology.
Axiomatology’s Approach to Identity Transformation
When it comes to Axiomatology, the approach to identity transformation can be seen as similar to the approach toward achieving personal happiness. In other words, there is no direct approach to identity transformation within the context of Axiomatology.
The focus on "redefining" one's identity is viewed as not only an absurdly grandiose endeavor, but also so illusory that it is almost bound to produce detrimental results for the individual. Much of the evidence for this lies in the fact that the Western self-help market continues to show growth tendencies—which would be mathematically impossible if it actually produced even 1/20th of the results it promises.
If such methods worked, we would walk through societies populated by perfectly fit, ageless, masculine, highly intellectual, and morally perfected beings—modern Gods with six-packs, who court virgins and goddesses, fully embodying all feminine and masculine ideals. Even thinking about such a utopian nirvana, compared to one glance at any Western suburban street, should not provoke laughter, but rather a profound sadness. It is the classic trajectory: from utopia to tragedy, from tragedy to parody, and from parody into a Dantean Divine Comedy type of hell.
Therefore, within Axiomatology, identity transformation is understood only as a by-product—something that occurs symptomatically as the result of deeper processes, and never as the initial target. Especially when identity is defined from a third-person perspective (i.e., how one appears to others), pursuing it directly is seen as misguided.
Any genuine identity transformation, according to Axiomatology, occurs only through the reconstruction of one's Structured Internal Value Hierarchies (SIVHs). It is achieved by other means: alignment with value-based narratives, engagement in meaningful responsibility, and transcendent commitment to ideals. The emergence of a "new identity" is something that happens as a result—but is never something a person should or even could work on directly.
This understanding diametrically separates the approach of Axiomatology from both Western self-help paradigms and Eastern-derived identity dissolution models.
Step 0: Defining the Possibility of Transformation
Axiomatological transformation always begins with structuring the value hierarchy—specifically, with gaining clarity about what the soul aim and monotheistic top value will be for the person in the next stage of life.
When it comes to phrasing this, most individuals are able to articulate their version of a top value relatively easily. However, in many cases, there is a wicked deconstructive element at work within their value hierarchies. Although the person understands, at least superficially, what a hierarchy entails, they often build a system where "personal happiness" is smuggled in through the back door—either as a parallel value to the top value, or as something "outside" the hierarchy upon which the entire system depends, much like a pantheistic god in older metaphysical systems.
For example, someone may sincerely claim that "family," "marriage," or "helping one's community or nation" is their singular top value. Yet, often without realizing it, they fall into the very common trap of the Happiness Delusion (HD) by adding the proviso: "But of course, I have to be happy first."
This is a typical misinterpretation of the "fill your cup first" ideology, which often leads to a situation where, after one's own cup is sufficiently filled, there are no other cups left to fill at all. The person fails to recognize that personal happiness, in any form as a primary goal or top value, is not only unachievable simultaneously with real meaning, but that striving for personal happiness actively blocks the achievement of the very value they claim to pursue.
Once a person realizes this fundamental contradiction—and understands that achieving meaning correlates with the sacrifice of personal happiness—then there is a theoretical possibility to proceed toward real transformation. Without this recognition, however, one can continue striving and may even experience temporary success, but it will be short-lived.
Initially, personal happiness is framed as the absence of certain problems. Later, it becomes framed as the pursuit of variety and personal fulfillment. Eventually, it mutates into something even more grandiose and self-serving. The problem is that all of these framings require enormous resources—time, attention, emotional energy, money—pulled away from other, deeper areas of life.
Moreover, the financial cost of maintaining a lifestyle dedicated to self-gratification and enjoyment of life (often cloaked under banners like "self-realization," "feeling loved and fulfilled," or "just living and letting others live") grows exponentially. Eventually, the individual reaches a state of existential exhaustion, where all available options—no matter how indulgent—seem equally meaningless.
Step 1: Totality of Responsibility for the Past
A key to identity transformation per Axiomatology is the radical acceptance of the past. The essential principle here is that Axiomatology does not share the idea of "oneness" to the degree that it would eliminate causality. Any belief system that weakens or denies causality works radically against the development of true self-responsibility.
Our extensive experience across hundreds of cases—involving many leaders and highly educated individuals—has consistently proven the impossibility of meaningful transformation without a radical embrace of personal causality.
When it comes to determinism and causality, many intelligent individuals who resist accepting total responsibility for their past try to introduce "middle ground theories." Some, more philosophically inclined, even reference David Humeand his famous analysis of causality through the metaphor of billiard balls.
However, little do they realize that even Hume himself—despite attempting to be a radical skeptic—inadvertently reaffirmed causality. When Hume speaks of "when we see..." or "when we hear..." sequential events, he is already assuming causal perception at the level of subjective experience. By positing sequences of synchronicity or simultaneityto explain skepticism about causality, Hume ironically builds his argument atop the very causal perception he seeks to doubt.
To be fair, compared to the Western mystical derivatives of Eastern philosophy (which often slip into infantile sleight-of-hand logic), Hume's skepticism operates at a highly logical and genuinely critical level. His method, even if flawed, remains a work of genius compared to the conceptual evasions common in the contemporary self-help or spiritualist culture.
Thus, in Axiomatology, taking radical responsibility for one's past is non-negotiable. Without the full acceptance that "I am 100% responsible for everything in my past," there can be no restructuring of the Structured Internal Value Hierarchy (SIVH) and no authentic positive action toward the future.
Only once this totality of responsibility is embraced does the pathway toward true identity transformation open.
Step 2: Moment of Transformation – One Conversation Can Change a Life
Many individuals who have experienced an Axiomatological intervention, and who have accepted or received the seeds leading to acceptance of the previously described thesis, often acknowledge that just one conversation changed their life permanently.
However, there is something important to recognize regarding that phenomenon. Because Axiomatology frames reality through process theory, each moment in time is understood as an "occasion" or node, composed through the process of concrescence (per Whitehead) or Self Fusion (in Axiomatological terminology).
In this process—according to both Whitehead and Axiomatology—the act of becoming takes place outside of spacetime as we empirically experience it, by composing prehensions from:
the physical surroundings,
previous occasions,
conceptual prehensions (memories, imagination, empirical categories),
and moral prehensions (Structured Internal Value Hierarchies, or SIVHs, and the Will of God, WOG).
Thus, within every new occasion, there is an inherent opportunity for transformation built into the very structure of becoming.
The good news is that once a person has genuinely reconstructed their value hierarchy and begins applying it attentively to each new Self Fusion occasion, they can change their life instantly.
"That is just awesome," one might say—especially when comparing this capacity to the myriad of therapeutic interventions that claim, but rarely deliver, rapid transformation.
The bad news, however, is that at the moment of real transformation, probably only the person themselves is fully aware of what has happened.
Yet this kind of transformation is far from negligible. Because the newly reconstructed SIVH—aligned with the moral prehension (the Will of God, in Axiomatological terms)—carries the new hierarchy forward into every subsequent occasion. Each new becoming reinforces and expands the transformative structure.
In essence, these first two steps correspond closely to what Christianity frames as confession (radical acceptance of the past) and repentance (revaluation and restructuring of priorities).
Step 3: A Long Way Toward Transformation
When it comes to identity transformation, we can now understand the third phase as “adornment”—a long journey back to truth.
Although the modern world is saturated with promises of "rapid" therapeutic solutions, the somewhat sobering news is that there are no quick solutions when it comes to true identity change.
To illustrate this, we can turn to Narrative Cosmology—one of the main tools of Axiomatology and Axiomatological intervention.
Formal identity change often happens "officially"—that is, recognizably to others—only after a very long period of adornment, much longer than most people anticipate. In the narratives of people's lives, this adornment period can be compared to a time lived in falsehood and self-deception.
To understand this dynamic more vividly, let us turn to the rich narrative of Jacob from the Bible—a trickster, a self-serving fool by his early actions, who manipulated his father not once, but twice.
This surprises many readers because we often imagine Jacob as a young man sneaking around and Isaac as nearly on his deathbed. But the text tells a different story: Isaac lived to be 180 years old (Genesis 35:28), and did not die until much later. His failing eyesight and blessing of Jacob occurred when Isaac was around 137 years old—meaning he lived for another 43 years after the blessing episode.
Thus, Jacob was not a teenager, nor even a young adult. He was a full-grown man—77 years old by biblical reckoning—middle-aged by today's standards, yet still unformed in character.
His journey toward maturity and redemption began late, which makes his transformation especially relatable for anyone who finds themselves starting "late" in life.
Jacob tricked his brother out of the birthright of the firstborn and later deceived his father to obtain the paternal blessing. These were pure Machiavellian moves—well-planned and ruthlessly executed.
However, when we analyze the moment he “broke down”—what Axiomatology would define as Stage 1 (radical confrontation with the truth)—we find it in the "dream of Jacob’s ladder". This moment occurred after he fled his home, entering a phase of wandering and internal repentance.
The Story of Jacob Explained from the Cosmic Narrative Perspective
After stealing Esau’s blessing, Jacob is forced to flee for his life. Alone and vulnerable, he experiences his first direct encounter with God at Bethel. Genesis 28:12–15 recounts:
"And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven... And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, 'Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.'"
God’s promise to be with Jacob does not remove the hardships that lie ahead; rather, it promises divine presence through the struggle.
This is the moment of confession and the beginning of the road to redemption. The ladder symbolizes the value hierarchy, with God at the top—the singular, monotheistic value that structures all existence properly.
When we now analyze the adornment of Jacob—the actual "way back to truth," living in authenticity, and earning redemption—we see a period lasting approximately twenty (!) years.
How’s that for comparison with today’s popular claims of "rapid transformation" or "spiritual rebirth" often touted in Western mysticism?
Jacob's journey consisted of:
7 years of labor for Leah,
7 years of labor for Rachel,
and 6 years managing livestock.
Thus, Jacob’s exile and path of adornment were indeed long and harsh.
At Laban’s house, the deceiver becomes the deceived. After serving seven years for Rachel, Jacob wakes to find Leah beside him:
"And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, 'What is this you have done to me?'"(Genesis 29:25)
For twenty years, Jacob endures labor and injustice under Laban’s authority. As Jacob later reflects:
"By day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes." (Genesis 31:40)
Adornement—and true identity transformation—is not quick; it is shaped through years of endurance, humility, and the slow breaking of pride.
What must be stressed, especially in the context of Adornement in Axiomatology, is the essential truth that "when one is on the right path, God is with them."
Even as Jacob suffers, God continues to work behind the scenes. Though Laban cheats him, Jacob prospers because of divine intervention. Jacob himself testifies:
"Your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me."(Genesis 31:7)
Thus, God’s hand preserves and blesses Jacob even when circumstances seem unjust—a crucial element in understanding true adornment and transformation.
Actual Transformation of Identity After 20 Years
The true turning point of Jacob’s redemption comes when he prepares to meet Esau after years apart.
Terrified that Esau might still seek revenge, Jacob divides his family and possessions, praying desperately for protection. Yet before he can face Esau, Jacob must first face God Himself.
In Genesis 32:24–28, we read:
"Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day... Then he said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.'"
The all-night wrestling is not merely physical—it is symbolic of Jacob’s internal battle. He walks away wounded, limping from the divine encounter—a permanent sign that true transformation leaves scars.
This is the byproduct of years of suffering toward redemption.
This is the true "identity transformation".
God’s blessing seals the end of Jacob’s long journey:
From deceitful ambition to wounded perseverance,
From self-made striving to divine surrender.
In Axiomatological terms, Jacob’s transformation represents the culmination of adornment: a life-long restructuring of the internal value hierarchy (SIVH) through radical acceptance, endurance, and final alignment with the highest moral order.
Identity Transformation Is a Byproduct of Long Suffering
The interesting aspect that becomes apparent through Narrative Cosmology—and fully aligns with Axiomatological principles—is precisely the true nature of "identity transformation."
If identity change is treated merely as a PR stunt, as replacing one persona with another, then it is not rooted in any long-term process of suffering, and thus cannot be considered adornment proper.
By contrast, when such a process of long suffering does exist, the "new identity" becomes almost semantically irrelevant—it is a natural outgrowth, not a conscious goal. In most genuine cases, the individual is not even interestedin acquiring a "new identity" at all.
Jacob did not endure 20 years of labor, betrayal, and wandering in order to get a new name. He worked, struggled, humbled himself, and prepared to face his brother’s wrath purely out of sincerity, accepting whatever outcome awaited him.
He was willing to be forgiven or punished—it did not matter. What mattered was living in truth.
Similarly, consider the example of an elderly man: if, after years of living in an unhappy marriage—where he, like many old kings, had been willfully blind—he divorces without confession, repentance, or adornment, and simply turns himself into a "sugar daddy", he has merely postponed his moment of confession. His redemptive arc is pushed further into the future, and—critically—it becomes proportionally longer as a function of age and opportunity lost.
Likewise, imagine a young woman living under the same roof with her unsatisfactory partner, raising two sons. Her true moment of confession would be the sincere, radical attempt to take 100% responsibility for her past choices and to rectify her situation with full honesty. Postponing action by rationalizing externally ("for the kids," "for financial reasons," etc.) only delays the confession and extends the duration of necessary adornment.
Moreover, in today's society, such prolonged postponement dramatically increases the likelihood of emotional collapse, and can ultimately make her a future candidate for the very same sugar-babe dynamic as the aforementioned failed patriarch.
Thus, the true moral of identity transformation is this:
Identity transformation, as we usually understand it, does not exist.
It is a byproduct of something far more valuable:
Living in truth,
Suffering slowly and honestly for past mistakes,
Enduring years—perhaps decades—of real adornment,
Working selflessly as a mode of existence in alignment with truth.
And then, perhaps one day, we might be among those who stand before God without hesitation, without demands or expectations, and then—only then—God will give us a new name.
