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Getting to know yourself is hard. But the good news? Just in wondering how to get to know yourself, you can already recognize one of your characteristics: introspection.
Congratulations!
Some things really are that easy.
But now, how do you really get to know yourself?
How do you actually do the whole introspection thing?
Below, we’ll explore 5 simple tips to aid you on your quest toward knowing yourself.
How To Get To Know Yourself Tip #1: Try New Things
There are parts of ourselves that we’ll never really recognize until we make use of them.
You may not realize how caring you are until you sign up to volunteer with a cause that matters to you.
Your sense of adventure may not be realized if you don’t get out there and do something exciting.
I might not have known I had a passion for language learning if I hadn’t first taken a foreign language class. Or that I really valued art if I hadn’t started a daily drawing practice.
The more you do things, the easier it will become to identify your core traits and discover what drives you.
Get out there and try something new, and see what it teaches you about yourself.
How To Get To Know Yourself Tip #2: Interview Yourself
Have you ever pretended to be on TV, answering questions about yourself as though you’re a famous actor, author, or athlete? Is that just me?
Well, regardless, having fake interviews can be a great way to activate your subconscious and discover what you already know or believe about yourself.
Sometimes, I’ve been surprised by the words that come out of my mouth when I ask myself things like, “So, what inspires you to write about ____?”
Try interviewing yourself to see what you already believe about the kind of person you are.
Getting to Know Yourself Activity:
Sit down in a private place and have an interview with yourself!
Try to answer without thinking beforehand, and see what you intuitively want to say about yourself.
You can wing it, or write down a list of interview questions that you want to discover the answers to about yourself.
Have fun with it! Get into the “role” of the interviewer with a different voice.
How To Get To Know Yourself Tip #3: Ask What Other People Think Of You
This one needs to be handled with care. If you have abusive or manipulative people in your life, they might take the opportunity to criticize you and attack your self esteem.
Try asking trusted friends and family how they would describe you to a stranger.
“What are my main character traits?” you might ask them.
Or, “What are my top five strengths?”
If you feel sure that the person won’t be abusive, you might ask them, “What are my weaknesses? Where are my blind spots?”
Evaluate their feedback, keep what feels right, and throw out what doesn’t. You know yourself best.
Note: People can be wrong! Anyone you ask about yourself outside of you is outside of you, so they can’t know what it’s like in your head. Always take their feedback with a grain of salt. They might perceive you as one way, when internally you feel the opposite.
People’s view of you is often a reflection of them, too. (We as humans are masters at projecting.)
But it’s a good way to get an idea of how you appear to others, and from there you can assess whether that’s how you really feel, and if you might want to modify your behavior to align with your vision of who you want to be.
For example, if you don’t feel that you’re an abrasive person, but people are consistently telling you that you come off that way, you might want to review how your behavior could lead people to interpret you this way, and make adjustments as needed.
Or, if you think you’re funny, but no one lists your sense of humor as a dominant personality trait, it could be that you’re not showing that trait enough for it to be recognized by others.
The You in your head isn’t always the You that others know!
How To Get To Know Yourself Tip #4: Take Quizzes
While not diagnostic by any means, personality quizzes can be great fun and can also lead to some realizations.
When asked questions like, “Would you rather spend a Friday night at a party or reading at home?”, you’re gaining some introspective wisdom, whether or not the quiz result actually gives any real insight.
MBTI, Enneagram, The Big 5, and even some of the silly quizzes on websites like Buzzfeed can be good ways to get to know yourself.
For that matter, even looking into your astrological birth chart can be useful for getting to know yourself! Whether or not you believe in astrology, it can be helpful to go through your sign’s personality traits and ask yourself, “Am I really like that? Do I want to be like that?”
Speaking of who you want to be…
How To Get To Know Yourself Tip #5: Figure Out Who You Want To Be
Life is an ongoing process of creating ourselves.
The best way to get to know yourself is to ask who you want to be, and act accordingly.
If you can pin down your values and your passions, you can create a version of you that you feel close to.
Do you want to be someone who makes people laugh? Who is creative? Or well-read? Someone who tries new things, who seeks adventure? Or someone who is consistent? Who stays in on the weekends?
Experiment.
Play around with life and the way you interact with the world, and discover what feels like You.
Give yourself permission to change, to explore yourself in new ways.
I hope you never stop learning how to get to know yourself.
Sincerely,
What’s the point of knowing who you are if you’re not living for you? Here’s how to make sure you’re living for yourself.
Thirsty for more introspection? Here are 101+ questions to ask yourself about the kind of life you want.
What steps are you taking to get to know yourself better? Who do you want to be? Share in the comments!
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