ME, MYSELF AND I – THE PATH TO SELF DISCOVERY

With the rave of the moment where we all get motivational talks, books and songs, I still wonder why people are so unmotivated. This is the part where you tell me, it doesn’t work for everybody. You are so correct. These motivational tools might not work for everybody because you ought to know what you want in life, who you are and what you desire to do before you find the motivation and inspiration to ACT.

ME:

Who are you?

Let us be quite sincere with ourselves here. Is there a teeny-weeny anger at that question?

Why do we go on the defensive at that question or why do we rely on the age long response by defining ourselves by the labels around us, which could be your surname, your course of study and the tertiary institution you attended, even by your religious and marital status. Phew!!!

Your thoughts define you.

It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are – E.E. Cumming

Do you have any idea that the thoughts that run through your mind have a great hold on the actions you take? Huh! So before we give that automatic response or get defensive, let’s take a couple of minutes and think things through.

How do we define who we are?

In our daily hustle and bustle, we really do need time-out to hold things together in there (in our minds). There are several ways of doing this, some people would go by the way of meditation, others by reflection . I will suggest a great tool of self discovery; which is getting a journal. Yes a JOURNAL.

Why you may wonder, well because when those sizzling thoughts and revelations zap through your mind in those few and rare moments ,you would love to put them in writing, so you can refer to them at the most appropriate time.

Keep a personal journal: write your thoughts, dreams, ideas and deepest desires. This helps to keep you aligned to what you want to achieve, definitely a link to what you want in life. Writing our thought and ideas help us realise more about ourselves than we really know.

Our thoughts are like the wind, a moment it’s here, another moment it’s gone, and the more reason why we need to have a place to muse and reflect on those ideas and dreams that occupy our minds.

This process leads to a revelation about what drives you and what catches your fancy. Therefore, you must know yourself.

KNOWING MYSELF:

I am sure you have heard this question a couple of times ‘tell us about yourself’

He who knows others is learned, He who knows self is wise -Lao-tzu, Tao te ching

It has become the norm to define ourselves by other people’s labels of us. We have joined the band wagon and have lost our identity in the mix .e.g. The course you studied, the school you graduated from and the company you work with or work for and your religious and marital status. Right? Okay, so let’s say yes. We have always done that, how has that defined you uniquely from every other homo sapiens upon the face of the earth.

He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away – Raymond Hull

Really!!! Let’s reason; what makes you unique?

Well, you might say I smile a lot or something more mundane like I speak good English, duh! Can we have it anymore boring? Maybe, in a more severe case, you don’t seem to fit in . You are like the strange duck in the pond.

The key to discovering what makes you unique is a hint at what you can excel at. And when you know what you excel at, you would then know where you can fit in. It is usually what you do with little effort and enjoy doing a lot. Ever wonder why doing overtime on such activity does not bother you. THINK AGAIN!

WHO you are

Your potential = your gifts +talents

I know you have heard about all you want on gifts and talents, so I pray you, tell me at least two things you excel well at doing. We would tag this as your gifts or talents (thumbs up).

Wait a minute!! You cannot find one. Do not panic, just scroll up and read through and look inwards am sure you will discover you have a secret weapon waiting to be explored.

What inspires you?

When was the last time you really got inspired? And I am not talking about a plate of rice or drum stick of chicken now. When was the last time you had that infuse of energy zap through you and you could see something so clearly ,you wanted to start working on it so yesterday.

Remember?

Now, think about it, you don’t get inspired about everything around you, do you? Good! Therefore, we can state that there are certain events and situations that inspire and motivate you into action.

Let’s list them, remember! Write them in our JOURNAL.

So let’s take a pause here,

If these events really do inspire us, what do we do to surround ourselves with these inspirational events or create them every time or do you prefer to have them only when you are desperate. Why settle for a momentary period of inspiration while you can have them at all times.

So what are the sources of inspiration?

Books, music, experience, places, people, movies, seminars or talk shows, etc

Defining your life purpose leads to defining you.

DEFINING ‘I’:

Why try to be someone you are not? Life is hard enough without adding impersonation to the skills required – Richard Brault.

Going through life without identifying what your purpose of living is like roaming about in a room blindfolded. You know you are in a room, but you have no idea where you are going to and how far you have gone.

Becoming aware of why you are unique and difference creates an awareness of what you can do because of who you are and the gifts you have. You will come to realize that you have a need to meet and a purpose to fulfil. You will no longer feel lost in the crowd because now you know you can make a difference in the world.

Your purpose: your core values+ passion.

Core values +passion=mission +vision=YOU

Often times, people confuse their purpose in life with their profession or roles in life. The component of life purpose is your core values (fundamental beliefs, morals and standards that define you as a person and guide your behaviour) your core values indicate what you stand for. We will discuss core values in subsequent topics.

While your passion can be said to be the medium and platform by which you fully share and express your values, these media are usually considered as talents, gifts, skills or abilities which help communicate your purpose.

And that is because you have taken time out to define you in the midst of so many assumptions and labels that you have been given by the society and norms.

If I ask you right now to tell me who you are. And you must exclude all labels such as tertiary institutions, course of study, religious and marital status. What would you have as your response?

I look forward to receiving feedbacks from you.

I must say welcome to a Grand Realization.

Written by Yewande Alao @yewandai