A journey in self-discovery starts by first acknowledging who I am today. Not who I want to be or who I feel I am. It has to be who I am based on the available facts. Here I have to be brutally honest. There is no sense in self-deception. The intent is not to make oneself sad or depressed. Rather it is to know where the efforts and the punches will be going, to become all one is created to be.
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." - C.G. Jung.
It is imperative to know what our strengths and weaknesses are. We need to know what we are up with and against. In the marketplace, organizations do this with what is known as a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. What we fail to see is, each of us is an organization. We each have Strengths and Weaknesses; Opportunities and Threats. No one is altogether strong.
No one is altogether weak. Wisdom knows where our strengths lie and where our weaknesses are. It knows we are never disadvantaged. For our advantage lie both in our strengths and in our weaknesses. We are shaped for function and purpose.
"Hell, in my opinion, is never finding your true self and never living your own life or knowing who you are." - John Bradshaw.The Battlefield.
Every environment and market condition provides us with opportunities and threats depending on our strengths and weaknesses. “One man’s food is another man’s poison” is the age-old idiom that holds true. We cannot do all things equally well. Knowing yourself enables you to know what to chase after and what to stay away from, given a choice.
You can decipher what truly is an opportunity to chase, tap into, and harness. And the threats to your person and destiny, to be wary of. It is not simply about what we want to see. It is not simply about what we think should be. It is about what is we have to work within, bringing about the future we desire.
"If your number one goal is to make sure that everyone likes and approves of you, then you risk sacrificing your uniqueness and, therefore, your excellence." - Author Unknown.We need to get a true position of who we are and where we are. We need to come to terms with our past and its present effect on us today. Why do we do what we do? Why do we react the way we do? Why do we respond the way we do? The intent is not to belittle or beat down. Rather, it is to understand where we are, what we have to work with, and who or what we are up against.
"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death." - Leonardo da Vinci.
This in itself is a journey, not necessarily a destination. So, don’t be in a hurry. The most important thing is starting and running with what you know today. You’ve got a lifetime of discovery in front of you.
Authentic
"Life is an endless process of self-discovery." - James Gardner.
The Armoury.
There are several tools available to help on this journey. We will give a quick summary and introduction to each, including providing you with how to use them. No one is strange. There is no one common. We are all different and unique in our own special way. No one is better. No one is the least. We are all the best in being and excelling in our self.
"That wonderful and terribly frightening journey of self-discovery. That process of growth, or being an independent person, of learning who you are and what you want from life, is the real secret of life, happiness and beauty." - Diane von Furstenberg.
We will never be fulfilled being someone else. Our fulfillment is found only in being the best version of our own self.
© 2017 Akin Akinbodunse.
Link to Study Series:
Knowing Myself is the Key to Knowing Others (Part Two)
Knowing Myself is the Key to Knowing Others (Part Four)
Links to Other Resources:
The 5 Love Languages (Gary Chapman)
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (John Gray)
Authentic
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