How well do you really know yourself? When we first meet someone or we are in a new environment, questions related to who we are usually the first to be asked. Take for instance those online sites with profiles asking “tell us about yourself”. If you have ever been stumped by the question, don’t worry, most likely you are not the only one. After all, the answers we provide help to shape the impression that others form about us. As well, the more in tune we are with ourselves, the more confident we are in our abilities and the direction in which we want to go with our lives.
Here are a few ideas that can help you get acquainted with your inner being.
1 .Keep a diary
Keeping a diary might sound like something for little girls and teenagers, but if you look past that you’ll realize that to get in touch with yourself, you have to be able to express your thoughts and feelings. In your diary (or journal if you want to feel more grown up) you can write about anything. Try to write at least once a day; jot down everything. What was your happiest point, what did you accomplish, what made you smile, and the list goes on and on. During your writing sessions take a moment or two and re-read things you’ve written in the past. Sometimes when we experience certain emotions, like sadness or anger, we aren’t being the most rational or level-headed. Going over it when you are in a calmer state may help you to realize something that you had previously overlooked.
2. Meditate
All our daily activities can sometimes leave us feeling overwhelmed and cluttered, and it is much easier to achieve personal growth and prosperity by being organized. Practicing meditation techniques can help us to quieten our thoughts and bring a sense of relaxation. This gives us a mental fresh start, from which we can then begin to plan, prioritize and put things into perspective.
3. Travel
Show of hands all those who watched or read Eat Pray Love. While we may not be able to jet off to exotic countries like Julia Robert’s main character, we can travel on a smaller scale. Take a day to yourself and relax on the beach, or get yourself a weekend at hotel with scrumptious eats and treats. Head to an adventure park and get in on outdoor activities like zip lining and water rafting.
4. Exercise
Exercising is a great way to help you get back to you. Not only do you engage your body, some exercises such as yoga also engage your mind. During a workout, the body releases feel good hormones (endorphin) that bring a sense of clarity and happiness. When your are feeling happy, you’ll be better able to think clearly. A good workout followed by a little personal writing might just be what the doctor ordered.
5. Take time for yourself
Many of us are guilty of putting other people’s wants and needs before ours. By the time we’ve taken care of them, we’re too tired to take care of ourselves. If we are not careful, we begin to forget what it is that we want. Taking time for yourself doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s as easy as deciding to sleep late on Saturday morning and letting the rest of the family make their own breakfast or better yet make you breakfast in bed. Book an appointment for a pedicure at the salon. Schedule it in if you must. Having that special ‘me’ time is necessary in order to get to know the awesome human being you are.
6. Listen to music
Turn it up and turn it up loud! Have you ever played a song and thought “this is exactly how I feel” or felt like the artist was thinking about you when he penned those lyrics. Settling in and playing a few tunes can definitely help you get in touch with yourself and identifying your feelings. There’s a song for just about everything these days: love, money, clothes, feeling happy or angry. Think about songs that you play on repeat and think about why you identify with the words and what you think about when you’re playing or singing along.
7. Do something charitable
Well you might be wondering how doing something for someone else will help you discover things about yourself. However, there are times in life when you find the right thing, while it’s the furthest from your mind. Shifting the focus from yourself temporarily might just help you to uncover exactly what you need.
8. Have a therapy session
Hard to believe that there are persons getting paid to listen to you talk while you sit on a couch huh? I mean you can do that with your friends right? Well believe it or not, a good therapy session can help you get in touch with inner thoughts. And no, having a therapy session does not mean that you’re losing it. Often times when persons are having problems or facing difficult situations they are encouraged to talk about their feelings. Doing that with someone who can give an honest and unbiased opinion can serve as an eye opener and help you to realise your behavioural patterns, come up with solutions and identify things you can work on to be a better you.
9. Keep occupied
Try to keep yourself busy; however don’t go running yourself ragged. Just try to have something constructive doing at all times. This will relieve you from becoming bored and having that ‘I don’t know what to do’ feeling. Sometimes idleness can lead to us wasting time on things that don’t contribute positively to our daily lives, and this happening frequently can ultimately lead to bad habits.
10. Try new activities
How will you know what you like if you’ve never tried it? The best way to discover if you like something is by doing it. Not sure after the first try? Do it again. Make a bucket list, don’t focus too much on the ‘before you die aspect’ but instead concentrate on fun activities that you would like to try. You can also include things to challenge you and help you build your confidence. Look at new ways of self-expression such as painting, taking a pottery class or gardening.
The great thing about these activities is that you don’t need any expert skills to do them, and you can build your own personal collection to show off as you like.
11. Pray
A lot of us are guilty of doing this when we are in trouble or facing challenges, but when you pray, what do you pray about? What are you thanking God for, what are you asking Him to bless you with or work out for you. Chances are if it wasn’t important to you, you wouldn’t be taking it to The Man Upstairs. Prayer is a really good way to relieve yourself of things on your mind and express without worry of anyone judging, that way you can be as open and honest as you like.
12. Think about yourself
Find a quiet place like where you can just sit and think. Grab a little notepad as well. While this activity is similar to writing in your journal, make this type of writing a bit more objective. Think about things such as what are your goals, what you want to achieve and by when you would like to achieve them. If you are at a point where you are thinking about things like marriage and starting a family, consider things such as the values
you’re looking for in a partner, do you see them in the persons you may be seeing. Try to begin creating a ‘plan of action’ for yourself, to help you get to where you want to be.
13. Be Still
As the heading suggests all that is required for this is you doing absolutely nothing, except breathing. Try not to move and stop your thoughts from roaming. It might be easier said than done at first, but you’ll eventually get the hang of it. Start off by trying to do so for five minutes. With consistent attempts it becomes easier and you will be able to block out the distractions and congestion from your surroundings.
14. Take yourself on a date
Take yourself to the movies or to dinner or wherever it is you feel like hanging out. Learn to spend time with yourself in a public way. Just because you don’t have company doesn’t mean you can’t go out. If you’re going to get in touch with yourself, you have to know how to enjoy your own company. While it is fun to go out with friends, fact of the matter is sometimes they will be unavailable and you can’t let life pass you by because you are scared to do something on your own.
15. Pay attention to your feelings
When it comes to learning in general, you need to be attentive, just the same you should be perceptive when it comes to yourself. Try to be mindful about your actions, specifically those related to gut feelings and things that cause you to be annoyed, sad or stressed. Try to be aware and know when those feelings are coming on and come up with a technique to ward off the negative vibe that’s creeping up on you.
16. Be Intuitive
Also try to be intuitive; no one can know what’s best for you but you. Have you ever been unsure about something and gone ahead with it anyway, only to regret it later. Next time pay attention to that feeling and think about why you feel uncertain. If you strongly feel that something is (or isn’t) right for you, chances are you’re right.
17. Make space
While you are getting to know yourself, it’s possible you may lose and acquire new possessions. Set aside the time to go through the things that might lying around. If they are in good condition but not being used, you can try to plan a yard sale or donate them to a church. Physically cleaning your personal space might help you get rid of the clutter from your mental space.
18. Act silly
Make it a point to enjoy some silly time. Taking everything seriously at all times can leave you in a funk. Break the ice by dropping your guard and exercising your funny bone. Sing as loud as you can in the shower, or into your hair brush while getting ready for work in the mornings. Pretend you are on the runway and do your best catwalk across your bedroom when you’ve put on your shoes. You’ll tap into your humourous side and this will put you in a good mood to take on whatever the day brings to you. Perhaps if you realise that you’re starting to feel upset about something you can call on your funny alter-ego to turn your frown upside down.
19. Try a new look
Sometimes individuals on a personal journey want to change their outer look to be in sync with their inner self. This doesn’t mean you’ve got to get crazy, or do a dramatic change. It can be as simple as adding some new pieces to your wardrobe, wearing a little make up if you didn’t do so before, a few highlights to your hair. The changes can be as gradual and easy as you want, as long as you are satisfied. Having a new look might just inspire you to step outside of your comfort zone.
20. Rest
Begin your personal journey feeling refreshed. A lot of persons are guilty of living a workaholic kind of lifestyle, and while it’s good to have great work ethic, your body needs time to rest and re-cooperate. Being rested allows you to better focus your energy on your tasks and yourself. You may also need to adjust your schedule to accommodate your ‘me time’. Getting enough rest will help you to better balance your new activities with your old ones.
