When you know yourself, nothing is capable of taking you down. No one can say anything to make you feel a certain way. You don’t go with the flow. You control your own mind, therefore, you control your own life.
The reason why people get caught up in doing the wrong thing or fall in with the wrong crowd, is because they don’t know themselves. They do what others do, without thinking for themselves. Getting to know yourself involves alone time and reflection.
There are people who always have to be around others to feel important. It terrifies them to be alone. Taking the time to be alone can probably solve more issues than you know.
Being alone and getting to know yourself involves more than figuring out what your favorite color is and what you like to eat. It goes deeper than that. You should think about questions like:
- What do you believe?
- How far are you willing to go morally?
- Where do you want to be in life?
When you know these things about yourself, it gives you direction. If a situation comes up that involves making a difficult decision, if you know yourself, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out.
If you want to travel the world, why are you hanging out with stick-up kids? If you want to create a new software, why are you spending time watching reality TV shows? If you want to do something different, why are you doing the same thing everyday?
It can very well go beyond those examples, but the point is, if you know what you want to do, stop wasting time NOT doing it. Don’t get comfortable and do what you’ve always done. Get up and move in the direction of your goals!
Knowing yourself also involves what you stand for.
You need to know your moral compass. If you see an adult abuse a child, why are you sitting there watching? If someone needs help, why are you recording the video and not stepping in to help? Don’t wait for someone else to do it – you can step in and help. Waiting for others to do something is lazy. If you know yourself, you would do what YOU know is right – you won’t pause to see what someone else does.
When you know yourself, you have the courage to go against the grain and swim upstream. It says something about you as a person. You become who you are and not what society has already made you out to be. Your example will encourage others to get to know themselves.
Don’t be afraid to reflect on who you are. You can only discover so much by being around other people. The other part, you have to do alone. Take the time to know yourself. It’s a process worth going through.