Do you know yourself well?

Do you ever wonder ‘how well do you know yourself’? No, we don’t normally put ourselves under scrutinization, that’s the area we develop for others in our mentality. We move to judgment on others as easy as sipping water from the straw. Putting ourselves under our own judgment is hard or let us say self-introspection is nearly impossible to attain. Why, because we humans are biased creatures, especially when it comes to facing the mirror. To have a better look at ourselves we generally rely on other’s feedback as we see ourselves very differently from the way others likely to see us. 

To quote the fact, ‘self-introspection’ is very necessary to obtain greater objective and insight in life. It further helps in:

1. Finding our real self: How well do we know ourselves? We might have a very different perception of seeing and believing ‘who’ we are than the actual reality. It hugely depends on how others see you. It’s important to know which ‘you’ do the others see?

2. To know your values and principles: Besides the basic teachings, we form a set of rules and regulation in our brain which we follow. These are like rules in our sub-conscience which rules our honesty, integrity, decision-making, conflict resolution, flexibility etc.

3. Knowing your body: Through self-introspection, we are able to know our body well. We are unable to push our body out of the comfort zone and frequently give up for physical challenges without even trying. Our body has great limits and through self-judgment, we are able to know it.

4. Your likes and dislikes: It seems to us that we all know our like and dislikes without any proclaimed efforts. Wrong! Sometimes, we are afraid to try and step out of social trends. It takes a lot of guts to accept your likes and dislikes.

5. Knowing your goal or dreams: Majority of times our dreams and goals are led by others. We follow what they want us to follow ad try to achieve it.

The secret here is: It’s completely OK to not know ourselves well or at all because we were not born knowing ourselves and we developed it gradually as we grew. So, how can you know yourself better?

1. By knowing your negative areas: By knowing your negative areas you will have a different approach towards the things that might be hurtful. Maybe you are unable to quit a horrible job despite wanting to or crawl out a dysfunctional relationship because you are emotionally weak. It’s better to work on those areas instead of not knowing them.

2. By focusing on a bigger and better picture: Life is the biggest teacher and it teaches us the lessons utmost ways. The best lesson life has taught us is to never give up. Instead of giving up on situations we should try and find a better picture out of the worst scenarios. 'Optimism' is the key.

3. By not worrying about the things which are beyond your control.

4. By facing your fears and knowing your drawbacks and putting them at improvisation.

5. Defining your own happiness: Happiness is the key that holds the most value in anyone’s life. Let others not decide it for you. Choose your own happiness; know things that make you happy.

6. By listening to your conscience: Consider yourself in a situation which brings you to questioning yourself? What would you do then? Listen to your friends, family or foe? None! Listen to your conscience. Somewhere deep inside you always know what’s right and what’s wrong.

These steps are not the die-hard tips but, it can certainly help in becoming self-aware and have a better understanding of our wants and needs.