No other pursuit in life is more infinitely rewarding than the art of discovering oneself.
Your most prized possession in life is a knowledge of who you are. It is the foundation for everything else, everything you’ll do, achieve and involve yourself with.
Discovering yourself is not a feat to come up with labels to attach to your person, no.
It is about learning who you really are, your place in life, where you are going and how to chart your course on becoming a better person in all areas of life.
There is no one right way to discover oneself.
There will never be an absolutely right answer to the meaning of self discovery. It is a personal and subjective journey.
The following questions are not almighty formula for self-discovery, but pointers that can guide you and provide insights.
1. What do you like to do?
What activities do you derive pleasure from?
What are your hobbies?
Where do you like to go, when and where do you most feel alive?
If time were not an issue, what would you not mind investing hours in?
One of the things that reflect who you are as a person are the things you like to spend time doing. Gather the data on your pleasurable activities to arrive at your own conclusion, and let it guide you into yourself.
2. What makes you happy?
Everybody wants to be happy, but not everyone knows what makes them happy.
You can’t just sit and wait for happiness to descend on you, you have to work at it.
The things that make you happy reveal who you truly are, because happiness is personal and a personally customized experience.
Think about yourself. What makes you happy?
Think back to a time when you were most happy in life, what were the factors responsible for the bliss?
Take clues from your current disposition.
Make a list.
Reflect on each of your answers. What do they say about you?
3. What qualities draw you to the people you admire?
We all have role models, people you admire or look up to. Or hope to be like. Could be a relative or an acquaintance or a famous person.
Whoever the person is, look closely and determine what you like about the person and what draw them to you.
These qualities could be pointers to who you wish to become or attributes you would like to adopt.
The people you like and admire say a lot about who you are as a person.
4. Where do you see yourself in five and ten years?
We all have plans for the future.
Even if you don’t have cogent or written plans, it’s still a plan.
You make your own and you are entirely responsible for how your life turns out.
Five years from now, what does your life look like? Where will you be and what will you be doing?
Take it further. Ten years? What is your life looking like in ten years from this moment?
And what do your answers say about you?
What insights do the answers give as to what kind of person you are?
5. Your circle?
The kind of people you surround yourself with are a reflection of who you are on the inside.
What does your circle look like and what does it say about you?
You know what role each person in your life plays and what position they hold. The grouping and classification say a lot about who you are.
Conclusion
It takes time to know yourself. The enormous task of having a solid and grounded understanding of who you are is a process that cannot be rushed.
In the end, you will feel fulfilled and find it easier to move through life with confidence.
Sometimes, it takes years because a lot of things have to happen for you to truly know you are.
Who you are is not a rigid, fixed notion. You will go through a lot of things and experience changes in life that will continually shape your perception.
Discovering yourself is a journey, not a destination.
It is important to know who you are, but what matters most is what you do everyday and at each phase of your life.
Strive to always get it right and do it right.
