Do you identify with your work? I do, a lot of the time. Ask me who I am and the word "writer" will pop up early in my answer, even though that's only one of many things I am. I'm also a wife, a daughter, a stepmother, a sister, and someone with an adventurous nature who recently pulled up stakes and moved all the way across the country. I'm good at cooking and yoga. I'm bad at horseback riding but I love it so I do it anyway.

But when I think about my identity, how I mark my place in the world, I think of my profession first. I bet you do, too. Being work-focused can be good: It motivates you to do your best, to try new things, to take risks in pursuit of greater goals, to find creative solutions to problems, and to dig in and do what's needed when challenges come along.

Identifying with your work, though, is a very bad idea. If you, like me, have been confusing yourself with your job, it's time for a subtle but essential attitude shift. Here's how to get started:

In a world where business models are evolving rapidly and new competitors can emerge almost overnight, strategic thinking — especially at the top of the company — is more important than ever to a company’s survival. Unfortunately, boards of directors have no clear model to follow when it comes to developing the strategic role that is best suited to the company they oversee. At one extreme, the board does little more than rubber-stamp the CEO’s decisions, while at the other, the board constantly second-guesses the executive team. Neither extreme adds value.

If you want someone to remember your message--in a presentation, an article, or a report--tell them a story.

Our brains are far more engaged by storytelling than a list of facts--it’s easier for us to remember stories because our brains make little distinction between an experience we are reading about and one that is actually happening. And while we've covered the importance of storytelling before, there is another element that can drive your point home even more--images. That's because visuals add a component to storytelling that text cannot: speed.

There is no shortage of material that needs to be read in business including marketing copy, business plans, contracts legal documents and of course business books. I love to read but not all business reading is particularly entertaining or well written. And some of the most important stuff is dense, dry and dreadful no matter how much achieving success requires you read it.

So when my inbox is full of necessary reading that I know will put me to sleep, I have to make a special effort to power through it. First, I set aside time with no distractions. No phone, email or TV to draw my focus. Then I find a place with lots of natural light. Lastly I turn on mellow music that I know well so I can get into rhythmic groove. Before you know it the stack is gone and I feel better for having been productive.

Here are more ways to tackle that tough material from my Inc. colleagues.

To gain better insight into what makes people share content online, Fractl studied the emotions associated with viral marketing campaigns, plotting the ones that are most commonly associated with viral content on Robert Plutchik’s comprehensive Wheel of Emotions:

1. Curiosity
2. Amazement
3. Interest
4. Astonishment
5. Uncertainty

Then, we looked more closely to see how certain demographics respond to different types of content.

Even with the best intentions, feedback can easily backfire. The praise you give doesn’t lead to greater confidence. Your expert advice seems to take the wind right out of his sails. You decide to “go easy” on her, only to find her growing more anxious by the minute. And you are far from alone if you’ve had a hard time figuring out why.

Fortunately, scientific studies of motivation have identified clear, principled reasons why some types of feedback work, and others don’t. It is neither mysterious nor random. If you’ve gotten it wrong in the past (and who hasn’t?), then you can do a better job giving feedback from now on by sticking to a few simple rules.