Your relationship with yourself defines so many aspects of your life. So how is it? Do you know what you want and who you are? Do you have a strong sense of self? How do you know?
Think about your morals and values. Where are your limits and boundaries in life? What do you cherish or hold valuable?
What about your personal relationships? Who do you hold close to you and why? What traits do you value in a person? How do you interact in these relationships?
Picture your ideal life. What’s in it? Who’s there with you?
Think about your past, especially focusing on crucial events. How did you react then? How would you react now? How have you evolved as a person? Are you still hung up on something that happened in the past? Why? How will you get past it?
What goals do you have in life? Where do you want them to and what do you hope to learn?
What influences you in your life? The opinions of others or your own? Who inspires you? Why?
Think about your childhood and how you’ve been shaped as a person. How were you influenced as a child?
Where do your passions lie? What do you love doing? How can you do that for the rest of your life?
What should you do if you can’t answer these questions?
It’s time to do some soul searching and self analysis. One thing I find helpful is to make yourself a “Self Exploration Notebook” where you can write down all these questions and start to answer them as you think about them. Think of it as making a map of yourself. You can even go further and start to ask yourself different questions that really make you think. Try to take time to write in it every day and see what you come up with.
Consider yourself as the world views you. Think about what kind of an impact you’re making and how those closest to you view you. Think about how a complete stranger views you. Is it how you view yourself? If not, what’s different?
Take time to evaluate all of your relationships. Think about family ties, romantic relationships, and close friends. Are these healthy relationships? How do they impact your life?
Consider the endless possibilities that you are faced with in your life. You can do anything and with all those options you’ve got to sit down and think about them. Think about your happiness and the path that leads toward it.
Continue to get to know yourself better every day. Think about your actions and the drive behind them. Think about your choices and the reasons you make them. Think about your daily interactions and how they affect you. It’s never time to stop exploring. Your map is constantly changing.
Don’t give up. Even if you’re a stranger to yourself the benefits of finding who you are as a person are endless. It’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do.
