Every day people struggle with identity crisis. They find themselves confused about what they want. It is not surprising that many people don’t know what they want and what they like. Most times, people go through life, clueless, not knowing how to live their best life. They are dying for clarity. Even the best of us struggle with this crisis. Human life is a never-ending study. There are times you find yourself having new interests or you are caught in-between multiple interests. It can be confusing and physically and mentally draining.
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Knowing yourself comes with self-compassion. The beauty of knowing yourself is that you can easily make decisions without falling into errors. It boosts your self-esteem and self-confidence. Knowing yourself, your likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses can help you simplify your life. People who know what they want can’t be tossed around by friends. Furthermore, it will boost your personal and professional growth and development within a record time. Someone who believes in himself and knows what he wants can easily get the confidence of people. People believe in people that know what they are doing. But all these things depend on how much you know yourself. If you are struggling with an identity crisis and you are yet to know yourself fully, in this article I am going to show you how to know yourself better in 5 proven ways.
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Take Personality Assessment
One of the suggestions I usually recommend to those who are struggling with problems of knowing themselves is to take a personality assessment. I usually ask them to know their temperament. So, the first step towards discovering a unique self is to know if they are extroverts, introverts or ambiverts. Are you outspoken, mild-spoken, soft-spoken, withheld, or you are a blend of some or all? It is possible to be a blend of all, depending on your mood, however, one must be dominant. Discover the subjects, matters, and interests you find joy doing or engaging in. As a person, I love science and technology and even arts, especially painting. I love reading books on business and global politics. Little wonder, I find myself to be interested in anything intellectual. This formed my basis to take interest in academics, research, and anything that has to do with strategic planning.
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Create The Values You Want To Live By
Another way to eliminate identity crisis is to build a set of values and belief systems and live by them. Most often, identity crisis is caused as a result of living on people’s opinions and beliefs. To know yourself better, you have to draw up values you cherish and live by them. How can you do this? You can primarily do this in two ways. Look at those things or habits that give you joy. It could be family, integrity, love for education, respect for humanity, patriotism, humility, respect for rule of law, love for God, love for democracy and so on. Also, you can examine those things you hate and live your life against them. For example, I dislike lies, ignorance, corruption, nepotism, dishonesty, and I live by fighting against them. Therefore, it is by looking at your likes and dislikes that you can draw up the values you choose to live by. You can also read and study the lives of heroes you admire and draw inspiration from them. By building a set of values you can easily choose your friends, the things you can compromise and those you can’t. By this, you can simplify your life.
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Try New Things That You Love
Another way to discover yourself and know yourself better is to try new things, especially those things that your fancy. Doing what you love can help you discover a new you that you do not know. Trying new things could be learning a new language, a new skill, new hobbies, attending events, joining an organisation, volunteering for a course, and so on. Some people tend to discover themselves when they enter into new territories. The reason why you seem like you don’t know yourself is because you are living your life on people’s terms. The course you studied was either chosen by your parents or you studied as a result of peer pressure. If you are not comfortable with yourself because you can seem to fathom who you are, it is time to do what you love.
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Keep A Journal
Keeping a journal is therapeutic and beneficial. A journal is where you communicate with yourself, where you open up and pour your heart. Most times, people find it difficult to open up to people. A journal is a good place to study your desires and dreams and fears by penning them down. Through this, you can study your thinking pattern and discover your unique self.
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Practice Mindfulness
Practising mindfulness means to be aware of your present and not to be stuck in the past. It is all about focusing on what you have now and who you are now. Is all about living in the consciousness of your present. It is a way of not letting your past judge you or the worry of the future scare you. You might have been a badly behaved person years ago, but today you are a different person. Mindfulness is all about focusing on who you are today. You can practice mindfulness through meditation, painting, journaling, taking a walk. It is all about making your brain to be at rest. Is all about focusing on today’s opportunities and not on yesterdays missed opportunities.
Featured Image Source: Thrive Global
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This article was first published on 7th December 2021
nnaemeka-emmanuel
Nnaemeka is an academic scholar with a degree in History and International Studies from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is also a creative writer, content creator, storyteller, and social analyst.
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