It might help if you try to think less in terms of making rationality and EA part of your identity and instead just look at them as some things you’re interested in. You could pursue the things you’re interested in and become a more capable person even if you never read anything else from the rationality community again. Maybe reading stuff from people who have achieved great things and had great ideas and who have not been influenced by the rationality community (which, by the way, describes most people who have achieved great things and had great ideas) would help? E.g. Paul Graham’s essays are good (he’s kind of LW-adjacent, but was writing essays long before the rationality community was a thing): http://paulgraham.com/articles.html
I think the rationality community is great, it has hugely influenced me, and I’m glad I found it, but I’m pretty sure I’d be doing great stuff even if I never found it.
It might help if you try to think less in terms of making rationality and EA part of your identity and instead just look at them as some things you’re interested in. You could pursue the things you’re interested in and become a more capable person even if you never read anything else from the rationality community again. Maybe reading stuff from people who have achieved great things and had great ideas and who have not been influenced by the rationality community (which, by the way, describes most people who have achieved great things and had great ideas) would help? E.g. Paul Graham’s essays are good (he’s kind of LW-adjacent, but was writing essays long before the rationality community was a thing): http://paulgraham.com/articles.html
I think the rationality community is great, it has hugely influenced me, and I’m glad I found it, but I’m pretty sure I’d be doing great stuff even if I never found it.