Dear Reader,
Here is a reminder of this post from last year to which further ones will continue, on the same topic. With new insights! Enjoy!
Advanced self-knowledge is a crucial part of taking care of your mental health. I believe most of us know the phrase from a very good friend/partner: “I know you better than you do.” It is when that person knows before you do that you act as you do because you are angry, hungry or sad. It means that the person observed your behavior and knows your pattern of reactions to different stimuli.
Knowing yourself first means that you need to be aware and mindful of what is going on in your mind, in your heart, with your body and how you respond to the present situation. It means you can observe your feelings, thoughts and behavior before the person next to you. If you are wondering how is that possible, it is only through working with yourself, getting to know yourself, not being afraid to be alone with your thoughts. It is also helpful when the person next to you shares what he/she acknowledges when around you. It can give you an idea of your imaged self-image vs. what actually others might see. Because, after all, each one of us uses own filters when seeing the world around us.
What is you color today? What makes you tick? Just as the fruits in the picture below, each one of us has a specific reaction to certain people, words, sounds, news, etc. Self-knowledge means that you know each color to which situation it fits and you act mindfully when challenged, either externally by a situation or internally by thoughts or emotions.
Further ideas about what self-knowledge encompass:
- Understanding of one’s own motives.
- Understanding of one’s own character.
- Having an immediate answer to the question: Who are you? or What are you like?
- Applying ongoing self-awareness.
- Being self-conscious.
- Knowing your values.
- Acting according to your values.
- Recognizing a conflict of values when arguing with another person.
- Knowing your weaknesses and strengths.
- Following your goals.
- Being fare to your goals and dreams in relation with the reality.
- Being present to actually enjoy your life.
- Knowing when to say No.
- Allowing yourself to be different.
- Listening to your gut/intuition/inner feeling.
- Getting acquainted with your Ego.
- Recognizing when your Ego is acting instead of you.
- Acknowledging and not apologizing for what YOU WANT and pursuing it.
- Setting your purpose.
- The measure of your willpower.
- Etc.
Each one of us can define its own meaning of self-knowledge. It is not a universal size that fits all, especially because each individual is unique in its own matter. Self-knowledge is an evolving process and it gets better with time, just like any good whisky/scotch.
Enjoy your weekend with yourself and the process of self-knowledge!