Yes, I do: Knowing Yourself Is Not a Default Setting
Just because you wake up and look at yourself every day does not mean you know what you are looking at. Have you spent time getting to know you? And after every major life transaction, there are more people to get to know, so the getting-to-know-yourself process never stops. I am still learning part of me.
The Judgment That Is difficult to Discover
I learned to know people without judging them, and you are judgmental. You are very critical, and this is why the journey of getting to know you is so difficult because every time you learn something new about yourself, you have to judge it as good or bad before you accept it. You will know yourself better when you have decided.
Accept Every Part Of Yourself
I am going to accept everything I find out about myself, good or bad or ugly. There are no such things as good parts of me and bad parts of me. There are parts of me that are under construction, there are parts of me that are beautiful and the world loves and the world desires, and there are parts of me that I wish the world did not have to see, but it is me, it is here, I accept it, and I LOVE IT.
Stop Hiding and Start being Compassionate about Yourself
I am not going to hide. Work on being compassionate and loving towards yourself so that you are less judgmental, and that will create a level of internal safety where more parts of you will feel comfortable coming to the surface without your own critique.
The Power of Knowing Yourself
Knowing yourself is a journey that is powerful because you naturally become unstoppable. When you understand yourself, you see the world differently, and it becomes much easier to navigate. It also gives you confidence, strength, and clarity. It helps you recognize your passion, your purpose in life, and your vision and automatically create a direction for your life.
The more honest you become with yourself, the more you grow, and your life will align with the true you. Knowing yourself is a journey, not a destination, so be patient with yourself, and continue learning, accepting, and becoming the best version of yourself.
Know Yourself
We have two different kinds of knowing yourself. You can know yourself conceptually, which gets you, for example, when you visit a psychoanalyst. The psychoanalyst will analyze your past, you will talk about it, and you will be encouraged to explore more and more of the things that happened. It could go on for years, and it is very interesting. That is knowing yourself, but it is not the way the Greek philosophers intended.
Knowing yourself not according to some philosopher, leader, analyst, or guru, because they only inform you what they think you are, including the Floridians, the unions, and all the rest. If you discard all those, you must investigate your own mind, your own reactions, and your own way of life.
10 Questions for Self-Reflection
If you want to know yourself better, here are questions to reflect on. Taking time alone to answer them can provide insight into your thoughts and feelings, helping you understand yourself on a deeper level:
Knowing yourself conceptually can be helpful because it often shows you where you are trapped and what the obstacles are. But knowing yourself in the deeper sense is the other kind, which is knowing yourself as the aware presence.
- What brings me joy?
- What is most important to me?
- What does it mean to me to win a life?
- What does a day in my dream life look like?
- How can I better serve the world around me?
- What does success mean to me?
- What characteristics in others am I most attracted to?
- What changes am I willing to make to create the life of my dreams?
- What am I holding on to from my past that is keeping me from moving forward?
Remember, understanding yourself is a continuous journey, so always do the work.
Focus on Yourself
If you know yourself, that is enough. You do not have to know everything or everybody. Your journey is your own, my journey is not. My lessons are not your lessons, and where you are in life is not where I am.
When it comes to others trying to tell you where you need to be or what you should do, focus on you, because I am focusing on myself.
Action: Three Questions to Ask Yourself
If you want to know who you truly are in your subconscious mind, here are three questions you need to ask yourself:
1. What is your favorite animal?
Write down the animal and five qualities that you like about that animal.
2. Write down your favorite color
Write five things that color makes you feel:
Example:
- Blue: trust, stability, honesty, and creativity.
- Red: courage, strength, passion, and excitement.
- Yellow: positivity, warmth, energy, happiness, and creativity.
3. Imagine This Scenario
If you woke up in a room with no windows and no doors, and you had no idea how you got in there, what would be the first thing that you would do?