“Your preferences, your interests, even your quirks make you YOU. When you take the time to know and understand yourself, then your purpose in life becomes very clear.”
Life takes on a richness of meaning and purpose the more you know who you really are and who you are not. This is what we have experienced while MYD journeyed to look at the value on knowing yourself and the freedom that comes with this experience. As such, 99FM’s MYD Heart spoke to resident MYD expert, creativity coach and lifestyle mentor, Karen Powell, to help us understand the process of getting to know yourself. Karen prepared for us a step-by-step guide for the journey of uncovering the true you.
Toolkit for Getting to Know Yourself by Karen Powell
When you know who you really are – and who you are not, your life takes on richness and meaning. This in turn creates feelings of happiness, fulfillment and a feeling of purpose in life.
How can we get to know ourselves better?
By taking the time to focus inward. You can get feedback from others and how they see you, but all the answers you need are already inside of you – if you’re willing to have a closer look.
- Take inventory of where you are right now in your life.
Draw a large circle on a piece of paper. On the inside write down everything present in your life at the moment that you’re happy and at peace with. On the outside write down everything that is irritating you, troubling you, draining you. This is an eye-opener when you see the state of your present life written down in black and white. This awareness is your starting point.
2. Morning shred sessions.
Do twenty minutes of stream-of-conscious writing first thing every morning. This is not journaling, it’s purging. When you’re done shred the pages, rip them up or burn them. This type of writing will bring a whole lot of truth into your awareness. It may not always be pretty, but the truth will set you free… It will also help guide you in making small changes that help you live in a way that reflects your true self.
3. Exercise your intuition like a muscle.
Your intuition knows you better than you know yourself! It has your very best interests at heart. It’s always leading you to your most true self. Every time you acknowledge it, it gets stronger – just like a muscle.
4. Make boundaries for yourself.
If someone’s behaviour is not acceptable to you, you have the right to create a boundary with them. Boundaries help you build your self-respect and in turn a deeper sense of knowing who you are.
5. Honour and acknowledge all of your feelings.
Your feelings and emotions are a gold mine of information for you. Listen to them. Feel them. Express them in safe ways. For example, anger or resentment might be trying to tell you that you need to make or enforce a boundary with someone or some situation.
6. Take ‘should’ out of your vocabulary.
If you feel a certain way but find yourself thinking ‘maybe I should feel differently about this,’ have a closer look. Are you trying to please someone else? How do you really feel about the situation? Are you being totally honest with yourself?
7. Admit your hopes and dreams.
Admit them to yourself or a trust-worthy confidante. Then see how you can bring some small part of them into your life. For example, if you’ve always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, start by looking through fashion magazines. Then maybe doodle some designs that are on your mind. Every big accomplishment starts with one very small step. And then another, and another…
8. Stop apologizing!
I don’t mean for a mistake you’ve made that warrants an apology. I’m talking about constantly saying sorry for random or insignificant things. Some people are practically apologizing for the air they’re breathing. You have a right to be here, to be imperfect and to take up air and space. Stop saying ‘sorry’ for every little thing. It diminishes you and puts you down for no good reason.
9. Be kind and gentle with yourself.
Beating yourself up for your mistakes or imperfections only makes you weaker – not stronger. Treating yourself with respect and love builds you up, makes you stronger and more able to become your true self.
10. Make a collage of You.
Get a few magazines, put on some of your favourite music and pull out pictures and words that speak to you. Then glue them onto a poster board. This is really relaxing and fun to do and the end result is often surprising to people. Sometimes you don’t know why you tore out an image, but it later reveals its meaning to you – usually adding another piece of the mysterious puzzle that is you!
Admit your vision for yourself. It’s there for a reason – so that you could use this lifetime to become it. Your preferences, your interests, even your quirks make you you. When you take the time to know and understand yourself, then your purpose in life becomes very clear. You stop wasting time and energy on things that don’t bring you joy and fulfillment.
If you’re willing to get really honest about who you are and what makes you tick, then you’ll attract all kinds of support and people who are on the same wavelength as you. Inauthenticity just attracts more inauthenticity. Knowing yourself starts with being honest to yourself.
For more insight from Karen, find her on her website by clicking here : Karen Powell
Or contact Karen Powell by emailing her at karen@kcpowell.com