If we want to be a better version of ourselves, then we should know who that is right? Can you answer the question "Who Am I?" without referring to your:
· Job
· Possessions
· Gender
· Nationality
· Health situation
· Role in life
· Personal appearance
When we are born, we never wonder what it means to be us. We focus our attention on learning how to walk and talk that the idea of ‘self’ is not a priority. As we grow older we make friends, fall in love, embark on a career, maybe even start a family. The idea of understanding our sense of self and our identity is barely on our radar.
Then one day something happens, an unexpected event or experience, and we realize we have not made any choices about who we are. We’ve just become someone along the way. Having never really thought about our deeper selves, we are out of touch with who we are and what is important to us.
It is natural, over the course of a lifetime, to reach a moment when you question everything about your identity. Don’t be surprised, when in a moment of reflection over your life, you realize that you cannot answer the question: “Who am I?!”
You may be wondering, “Why is it so important to know who I am?”
Knowing the deeper truth of who you are is the first step to realizing your highest potential. You become aware of your talents as well as, your most profound yearnings relating to what you want from your life; your dreams, your goals, your desires. This then acts as your internal GPS as you navigate life.
You become purposeful and confident in your choices and decisions because they are coming from your innermost wisdom, as opposed to being full of doubt and uncertainty. Your grounding stops you from blowing like a leaf in every direction the world takes you because you now have a mind of your own, therefore you are not easily swayed by others.
You set healthier boundaries because you know your true value and that you are worthy.
Knowing yourself also makes you more flexible and adaptable because you understand that even though things change, you are capable of overcoming them.
You become better at mastering your thoughts and emotions. You recognize that you are the one who experiences them, which means not required to do whatever your thoughts wish for you to do. You do not have to obey them.
Mistakes and failures no longer crush you. You understand that they are just feedback. You now have the opportunity to make different choices.
You start prioritizing yourself and practice more self-care. There is only one you and you are responsible for taking care of yourself. You stop putting yourself at the bottom of the “things to do” list and instead prioritize your physical, emotional and mental well-being.
At this point you are asking “So how do I find out who I am?”
There are many ways you can find the answer to this question. The one I prefer is for someone you trust and are comfortable with to ask you the question, “Who are you?” Then, answer with the first thing that comes to your mind. Your friend then asks for a second time "Who are you?" Answer with the first thing that comes to your mind. Continue the process of asking and responding for about five minutes. If you don’t have anyone, then you can look at yourself in the mirror and ask the question.
At first, you may not be able to answer without using Gender, Nationality, Role in life, Personal appearance, Job, Possessions, Health situation; which is why you need to keep the process going until you start getting to the deeper truth. Think of it as an excavation process, you are unearthing the genuine you. The you who is underneath all the ‘window dressing.’ As you delve deeper, you will begin to discover things about yourself that you were unaware about for example, thoughts, feelings and the way you generally feel about yourself.
As you go through your day try to be more self-aware. Have patience with yourself; it is a process and will take time. The journey to self-discovery is intense work, but worth it in the long run.