Knowing yourself better is the key to living a full, rich and healthy life This process can last a lifetime, since people change and evolve.
Although our temperament remains more or less stable over time, life experiences encourage us to change our opinions, interests and even values or moral principles.
People evolve throughout life. And that’s what makes this inner journey so fascinating, don’t you think? However, this makes the process of self-knowledge more complex, although no less valuable.
Knowing yourself well means living better for many reasons:
Definitely, Being aware of who you are leads you to make better decisions decisions that, although not ideal, will be aligned with you and your personal values.
Keep in mind that making decisions has more to do with coherence (with there being harmony between what you feel, think, say and do) than with the certainty that you are making the best possible decision. By deciding, we are embracing uncertainty and the possibility of making mistakes.
The important thing is that self-knowledge takes you, decision by decision, step by step, towards the life you really want and deserve to live But… what does it take to delve into that knowledge?
Requirements to know yourself better
To know yourself it is necessary to pay attention to yourself. It is necessary increase the volume of that inner voice that speaks to us even if we do not listen
Many times, we pay more attention to the voices around us than to our own. Whether due to insecurity, low self-esteem, fear of disappointment, failure, rejection… we tend not to prioritize our inner voice.
You have to listen to the inner voice to be able to know yourself. Self-knowledge also requires large doses of patience and self-criticism since it is about getting the most realistic idea possible of our strengths and strengths, but also of our weaknesses and weaknesses. And this is not always easy to accept.
Next, we are going to look at some practical ways to get to know you better.
1. Go to a quiet, natural or special place for you.
Silence helps to connect internally, contact with nature too. You have realized? Try to get out of your usual environment, or schedule some time alone in a quiet place in your house, preferably if it is special.
2. Write, annotate, review
A very powerful exercise is the following: write anything that comes to mind it doesn’t matter if it makes a lot of sense.
You can also create an emotional diary, in which you can record how you feel, what sensations you are having over time, what things worry you…
You can return to what you have written later to witness your own evolution It is important that you try to understand what your habitual patterns are: what you usually do when faced with a certain emotion, how you relate to your thoughts, your emotions…
3. Think in terms of need
Not all people need the same thing at all times Understanding what you need helps you give it to yourself, in a gesture of love. And this is part of who you are to know where you really want to go.
Both the use of artistic tools such as painting, dancing, singing, sculpture, as well as trying to be creative or mentally will be useful to you.
An example of creative thinking is the following: Imagine that you are a witness to your own funeral. Recreate the people who would be present there as well as the things you would like them to say about you. How do they describe you? What words do they use to refer to you? What events or actions do you point out as relevant in your life?
This creative visualization invites us to reflect on what we value.
In conclusion
It is not always easy to maintain enough objectivity to know yourself in depth. Going to therapy gives us the opportunity to learn to know ourselves better with the help of professionals who accompany us and who work like a flashlight where we cannot see.
