Many philosophers and religions encourage self awareness, to know yourself. But what does that even mean? Do we not already know know ourselves? If not, how do we even start? And why should we? It’s not unusual to wonder what it really means to know yourself and if it’s a real thing or is it something people just say. Let’s look into self knowledge.
Knowing ourselves helps us to get a better sense of our emotions. We could believe we feel one way, or try to feel a certain way, when we might actually feel something different. For example, say someone you knew died. You didn’t cry when you found out, not really feeling as much grief as you would have thought. You might be surprised – do I not care, why am I not crying? But then when you see their family members, you choke up. There’s still emotion inside we might not have known was there.
It also gives us some clarity in our goals. We often feel pressured, lost, or confused when we look into the future. What do we really want to do? Where do we actually want to go? Who do we want to be? Many of us feel this in college. Our freshman year we start with a particular major in mind. Through the years, maybe after taking some classes, we realize we might actually want to major in something else. Because we got to know ourselves a little more over a couple years, and our goals became clearer.
Self knowledge helps us to understand our strengths and our limitations in a deeper way. We might get overconfident and over promise something we’re not able to do. Or maybe we doubt our abilities and feel inadequate when really we have everything it takes. This is not understanding our strengths and limitations.
When we get to know our fears and attractions, we can also understand how me make choices. And when we understand the origins behind our decision making, we’re able to see if it’s leading us towards a poor decision or a beneficial one.
When we also look into ourselves, we can understand how we think and see behind our beliefs. This is how we’re moved through life. How we make decisions, react, how we work, identify the cause of events, and how we see life around us. Yes, other’s have different beliefs and we should look into it. We should learn to understand the beliefs of others which doesn’t mean we have to agree. But by understanding the perspective of others, we’re able to better understand ourselves and our beliefs.
If you’d like to explore yourself and get to know yourself more, please contact Crownview Medical Group to get connected with a medical professional who can guide through your journey to self discovery.
Source:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/seeing-what-others-dont/201512/know-yourself
