So, I like to tell you guys what I learned on my journey to gaining better confidence and this is by far the most important step. You might have heard me talk about getting to know yourself in my series of “The Importance of Having Confidence“. Doing this has kept me from making many mistakes and wrong turns so I think it’s worth sharing.
Life you want tour life you want tour 2
In October 2014 Oprah brought “The Life You Want Tour” to Houston and I have to admit it was the best thing that has happened to me.
What I got from the tour was the importance of happiness and fulfillment in your life. During the event, she had us doing a lot of personal reflection on what we want our lives to look like based on the things that are important to us. It was then I realized the things that are important to me were ignored, because my attention happened to drift elsewhere. Sense then I have made a conscious decision to spend time getting to know myself so the direction of my life can be clearer and my actions will have more meaning for my life’s purpose.
There are many ways people can take time and get to know themselves, but the key is to be more aware of everything you do and feel. This means from time to time you have to separate from the “noise” and really pay attention to what is going on inside. Focus on your thoughts, emotions, your dreams, what sets you off, what calms you down, etc. The purpose of all of this is to have better control of your life and the things or people that come in it (well…as much control as humanly possible). With this control you will see things in your life begin to have more meaning. Your friends won’t be place holders, your lovers won’t drag you down, your day to day activities won’t be a waste of time but necessary steps towards your dream.
If you have any sort of expectation for your life, getting to know yourself is a vital first step. Not one successful person that is truly happy with their life has skipped this step. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but don’t expect to be done with this task in a matter of weeks or months. It is going to take time to truly know who you are. The good thing is the more time you spend getting to know yourself, the faster you gain control of the direction of your life.
Challenge: Sometime this week, spend about an hour by yourself with no distractions. Think of the things you already know about yourself and jot them down in a list. You have to be 100% honest. For example, if you know you are nice, quick to anger, sporty, shy, or optimistic write those things down in a list. Of course these are just characteristics, but they’re a good starting point of identifying what makes up your personality. Once you’re done, pin the list where you can see it everyday, and when ever you learn something new about yourself add it to the list. When you have time for self reflection be sure to have your list with you. This will allow you to become comfortable with characteristics you want to keep or identify those you want to change for self improvement.
Ashley
