In Conclusion to the series (Journey to Self Discovery), Let us not avoid the factors that can hinder us from discovering our capabilities as much as we want to be a better person. Below are stumbling blocks to self-awareness which would affect your decision to living a good life and fulfilling your dreams.
Facing your Fears
You might not be willing to face the demons that terrifies you to finding out your true worth or makes you feel not wanted by people. Rather than examining your life, you would prefer to stay unaware or unnoticed and pretend to yourself that everything is fine.
Quoting a famous blogger;
“When you avoid the process of self-discovery, you are basically in denial of your authentic self. Behind the façade and outward appearance are your sabotaging thought and beliefs.”
A typical example is a smoker who knows smoking is dangerous to the health but chooses do it because it is the only antidote to depression or keeping a sane mind according to his belief system. At the aftermath, he eventually regrets not stopping the habit sooner when death is staring him in the face. Not judging anyone with the above example but just a way of calling a spade, a spade without beating around the bush.
You know that particular demon in your life that keeps staring you in the face and tells you not to bother making any changes because it is the only best life you can live. This only hinders the chances life has to offer you, by not going away from those bad habits and moving into the better life. If you are in doubt, look for people with similar experience and compare their lives to what it was before and now; either good or bad. It will help you decide on which path to follow.
It is best to face your fears now, to know your worth and value yourself than ignore the possibilities of living a great life.
Not loving the real you
Self-Love is a prerequisite to the values you set for yourself.
It is possible that you have the mindset of being a bitter person based on your experience in life and fail to absorb the lessons or let go of what you have being through. There are so many cases of failed relationships that leads to the partners believing it is a particular bad character they have, which deprives them of having a good relationship. They often stop dating or continue spreading the bitterness to the next person in line.
This is not a good way to live. Why not discover those bad habits challenging your relationships and find ways to correct them. Love yourself first regardless of people’s opinion about you. It gives you the energy to go out there and find solutions to your defects.
There is no point pretending to be someone else or living other people’s lifestyle to be what you are not. Most people tend to adopt traits, ideas or behavior of people and emulate it for themselves. They believe there is nothing worthy to change or correct about them due to low self-esteem. Get to know your own strengths and weakness to help discover your true self.
Another way to love yourself is by celebrating who you are. Take time to find out what makes you excited or fun to you. Go to places, meet people and get yourself gifts to inspire your living.
Busy Life
There is so much stress in your life which doesn’t give you time to discover yourself. You have a 9 to 5 job and always on the run to meeting your deliverable. Even when you get home at night, you are too tired to do a little self-reflection. No time to take note of the things you want for yourself but rather for the company you work for.
Recovery Strategies
Understanding what you want in life and work towards it.
Clarifying our core values to get the exact picture of who you are.
Find inspiration from reading motivational books or listening to great speakers
Spend time for self-reflection
By now, you should have taken notes of your answers to the real definition of who you are, your plans to being a better person with well-defined values and how you intend to achieve your goals by understanding the purpose of life.
Thank you for reading.