The Art Of Knowing Yourself
We live in a world with population over 8 billion people. Isn’t it crazy that each of us has our own stories, beliefs, and ambitions? Hard not to lose yourself here. Yet, in the middle of all the noise and distractions have you ever stopped and asked yourself: Who am I?
Most people believe they know themselves, but only 10-15% of them actually meet the criteria of a self-aware person. They may try to understand themselves but in the wrong way, confusing emotions with reality, asking wrong questions at the wrong time. Actually, no “Why did this situation make me feel bad?”, can help. It’ll mess you up even more. The reason is you won’t truthfully answer to that question hotheaded. You can’t see through cloudy glass, right? Emotions blur mind.
So, have you ever wondered who you are?
I’m not talking about circumstances which we often let lead situations and influence our behavior not in the best ways possible, but the real you. I’m talking about the deep understanding of yourself, some special things about you that make you yourself. This understanding is called self-awareness.
Let’s get a little closer to ourselves and become self-aware to live the life we want.
What Is Self-Awareness And Why Is It Important?
As I’ve mentioned earlier, self-awareness is the ability to see yourself clearly, to understand who you are and how you fit into the world. It’s the understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, your emotional patterns and how you interact with others. This understanding doesn’t have to be always positive. You will not like everything you see in yourself, and this can be very unpleasant. Though, true growth begins at the point of the most discomfort when you accept your imperfections.
Remember Rumi’s quote, “Yesterday I was smart, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” I believe in small victories. Those moments when you fight with yourself and choose to become a better person by improving yourself in simple little gestures.
Self-awareness is a basis for development and a stepping stone to success. As you will understand this, you will improve rapidly.
When you are honest with yourself, you feel fulfilled, happy and confident. Everything gets better: you gain control over your life and help yourself to process your emotions in a healthy way, you get better relationships with stronger bonds, and even level up your creativity. Besides all these, being self-aware is crucial in a career path. A self-aware person is good at setting right goals that align with his desires and needs, not the ones society expects from him. Also, it gives decision-making skills, which are important, especially, for leadership positions.
How To Become More Self-Aware?
So, we have figured out that we need self-awareness to find peace and success in this crazy world, but how can we actually become more self-aware? That’s a great question that is difficult to answer to. As we talk about billions of people and their personalities, there are billions of ways, which may work for someone, but may not for others. Fortunately, there’s some ground truth among all these ways.
Talk To Yourself
I think many of us have noticed that sometimes our close ones know us better than we do. Why is it so? Why can they see us perfectly when we can’t, no matter how hard we look? I have an answer for that. They are the ones who talk to us and who see us.
One of the best ways to know yourself is to talk to yourself. Just sit alone in a chair in the night, put away your emotional side and start asking yourself: who am I and why am I doing this?
Again, ignore the emotions and emotional moments. They will mess you up even more. You should better focus on your whole life, your routine, and things that you’re interested into. Try to understand your personality and behavior. It is difficult, but try to be honest with yourself. We all have flaws, and that’s okay. What’s not okay is ignoring those flaws and appearing perfect in your head.
10 Shadow Questions To Know Yourself
What type of lifestyle would you like to live in the next five years?
When are you the most inspired, charged and motivated?
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
What is the hardest decision you’ve made?
What makes you feel the most alive?
What do you love about yourself?
What holds you back in life?
What is your biggest fear?
What are you proud of?
Critics
Criticism can hurt our egos, but rejecting it can negatively impact on our lives. So, here you have to choose: feed your ego with delusions, or become better.
As I’ve already said, there are times when our close ones can see us better than we do. It’s the first reason you should finish your denial personality and start to look closely at criticism. Another reason is that even if you’re quiet good at something there’ll be someone who knows better or is longer in the field you want to be successful in. Start listening to the advice from these people and accept their criticism towards your work. You will see great changes, I promise you!
Learn, Learn, Learn
Knowledge is always the key. Every time and in every situation. Consume everything around you like you’re a big sponge. Read, watch movies, watch art, speak to people, listen to them and learn, learn, learn. Learn as much as you can. The more you get to know the world, the more you get to know yourself. Pick things you love and things you don’t. Here you will find yourself.