What is the Importance of Knowing Yourself
Aristotle, Plato’s protégé, once said the following words: “Knowing yourself is the beginning of true wisdom”. These words could not have been said any better. The gift of knowing yourself or personal discover is one of the most important skills you can ever possess and that's why it's the topic of “What is the importance of knowing yourself” essay.
Starting off towards self-knowledge should not be expected to be easy. There will be hurdles and the road will be rough. This is what demotivates many from attempting the trek. Fortunately, there are steps which one can follow in the pursuit of self-discovery. Here are a few suggested steps that one may take towards the daunting path of self-knowledge.
Being Still
The process of being able to truly know yourself requires that you take the time to be still. Many people don’t know themselves because they do not take spare time to be alone and self-evaluate. They find it somewhat too uncomfortable to be alone with every flaw staring back at them. But it isn’t until you get alone, evaluate yourself and are completely truthful with yourself that you will actually be able to see every facet of your life—the good and the bad. Make some time to be quiet and discover your true self.
Realize Who You Truly Are, Not Who You Want to Be
You may already have a set idea of who you desperately want to be but it might not be who you were designed to be; this is why knowing who you really are is so important. When you know who you are, you will finally see where you and your specific gifts fit into the bigger picture.
There are many points along your journey to help you discover yourself. Some ways to begin may include taking a personality test or simply evaluating yourself by listing your strengths and weaknesses in the most honest manner possible. Knowing who you truly are should come first, after which you can try to fit in who you would like to be (if such compatibility may be attainable). However, starting with imaginations of who you would like to be can cloud your judgment and cause you to have biased impressions of yourself.
Find What You Are Good At (and what you are not good at)
This might be the most difficult step in the process of finding who you are but it’s a necessary one. Sure, it takes trial and error to find what you’re good at. While you should never give up before you’ve had more than enough attempts, knowing when to quit is a gift that everyone needs to learn. Quit when you’ve put in ample time and your efforts aren’t giving back in return.
What is ample time? Only you can decide that (and this needs a lot of care). When you quit correctly, this is not giving up but rather making room for something better. When all your actions do is drain you—rather than produce more passion and increase your drive to do more—that’s a good sign it is time to focus your concentration elsewhere.
Everyone has the ability to succeed in life. How you succeed is however different from how someone else succeeds. This difference is what many people do not understand. They end up assuming that we are all the same and that we should succeed the same way. This is why whenever there is a popular investment idea, almost everyone goes for it. The idea is generally assumed to be good for everyone. When you see someone succeed, it is their way of doing things that gives them an edge. That’s what guarantees them success. Before copying them, realize that their way of doing things is very personal. What does this mean? People are different. They are actually unique in very many ways. What works for some people may not work for you.
Find What You Are Passionate About
Following passion of any kind is a good thing and you need to pay attention to identifying what your passions are. If we’re talking about following your passion in work, it’s a good thing. And if we’re talking about having more passion for life, that’s equally a good thing. Focus more on passion; understand yourself in better ways, and you’ll make a bigger impact in life.
I have heard many times the argument that it is risky to go for your passions and much safer to go for whatever paths that promise or guarantee returns, especially in career pursuits. There is some sense in this, especially in situations where survival is the primary motive. There are a number of career options which may not have much guarantees of financial freedom in countries like Malawi and it is arguably risky to pick those out of mere passion over others offering more returns (assuming you have the option to make such choices). It is agreeable that survival and personal development are fundamental. Everyone wants to see progress in their life. However, passion should still be included in the basis of decision-making in situations like these. Ultimately, both passion and possible returns ought to be factored in. This is because you are more likely to excel in areas which you are passionate about than areas where you have to drag yourself. Passion in anything produces effort and effort subsequently produces results. If you can’t use passion only in making key choices then at least balance your urge for survival with some passion too. This can be achieved by reaching a “middle ground” where urges for both passion and survival are satisfied. For instance, instead of settling for a career you are passionate about which is not financially promising or one you completely dislike but which offers financial returns, a middle ground could be to look for something that is related to your interests but with higher levels of promise.
Most students will have particular subjects they will be interested in. Others will feel a bit drab and boring. There is a sport you always enjoyed playing. There are things you naturally find joy doing. There are others which you just do because you are required to do them doing. I learnt these realities during my pursuit of my first degree (in Nursing).
In the first two years of my studies, my performance was superior. However, the last two years of my study saw my grades dip noticeably. The most embarrassing part was that some of my new lecturers who first met me towards the final stages of my studies thought that my unimpressive grades at that stage were probably because I was a slow learner. They were dumbfounded, however, upon realizing that I had consistently been one of the best students during my former years. So what was the explanation behind my fall from grace? Was my intellectual capacity waning with time? That is definitely not the explanation. After some introspection, I realized that I had more interest in hard science subjects than those were science had to be applied. Our program was designed such that it had more sciences in the first two years. The last two years were full of practical courses with limited theoretical bases. I was not a big fan of practice, which I perceived to be routine and not-so-scientific. My lack of interest in it created a schism which made me not only lose interest in my studies towards the end but also start contemplating a gradual career shift.
When you engage in things you are not so passionate about, the road becomes too long and the tasks seem undoable. When you do things for which you have interest, however, everything becomes smooth and you do not need to be forced to do them. When you are doing the wrong things, you become a mere statistic and not a protagonist. You see other people excelling in that area while you appear as just another Joe- simply doing the basics and routines of that field without going a step further. Even later after I had started my first job, I could see colleagues being chosen as the best nurses of those units while I stayed aside and watched. It was not that I did not know what kind of conduct was needed for one to be in line for such accolades. The problem was that I did not have enough drive to work hard enough to get such recognition. Being a science-focused individual rather than a practice-focused one, I felt like I was out of place because my area of work involved utilizing the skills I had learnt but not the scientific grounding for them. It felt too routine and uninspiring. In the end I simply did the basic things required of me and did not go any further than that or try to be great at it.
Ask for Feedback
If you don’t know a lot about yourself, hearing what others have to say about you is a helpful practice. Ask them two simple questions: “What strengths do you think I need to develop further?” and “What weaknesses do you think I need to work on?” Of course, their opinion isn’t going to be perfect, but their feedback will probably indicate a few areas you should at least take a second look at. This step is especially important for those who are stuck in finding themselves. Sometimes those closest to us can see something we might not be able to see in ourselves.
Assess Your Relationships
A large aspect of knowing yourself can be found in your relationships. When you realize you’ll never truly know anyone else until you discover yourself, the importance of knowing yourself becomes even more apparent. This truth especially rings true for those that lead others in ventures such as businesses. If you don’t know the people on your team then you will be lost as a business leader. But this rule also applies to any relationship in your life. Almost as much as you need to know yourself, other people also need to know who you are. People need you—the real you.
Conclsuion
When you know who you are, you know what things you are supposed to do instead of looking for validation from others to do things. It allows you to bypass tons of frustration caused by putting time into the wrong things. Of course life is supposed to be full of trial and error but this lets you find the best areas for you to experiment with in the first place. Once you know yourself you will become more confident, you will understand your purpose and you will begin making a bigger impact on the world.
