Who am I? Many of us have heard this question in many phases of our lives. Be it in professional life or in personal, be it when we were teenagers or adults. When we were kids and in school, our teacher used to ask us, what do you want to become when you grow up? Many of us used to say many things; doctor, engineer, teacher, pilot were some of the common answers. Personally, I was always very confused about this question. It’s not like I wanted to become a lot of things at once. But in truth, I didn’t know what I wanted to become.
The Question:
Now why I mentioned this question… because both the former and latter questions are very much related. In order to know what you want to become, first you have to find out who you are! What you are capable of, what are your strengths and weaknesses, and many other things.
As a kid, we didn’t have to think much because we wanted to become what we liked. For example, if we had a favorite teacher, we wanted to become a teacher when we grow up. We used to see planes flying by in the sky, that seemed interesting so we wanted to become pilots. But as we grow up, this question becomes a burden to us, a reason for stress. Sometimes we have something in our mind, but because of our parents, money concerns, not having the required qualification for the field, we choose to do something else, and with time we forget what we had dreamed of becoming when we were kids. I believe those who had one goal in mind throughout their life and they achieved that goal and became that person…….they are really something and they have a clear understanding about themselves and their strengths and weaknesses.
Easy Answer?!:
The answer to the question…who am I? is not that simple. I personally observed in my life that the answer changes every time we grow as a person. Growth means not only physical growth but also mental, emotional, and perhaps spiritual growth. As we grow, we gain new experiences, learn new skills, so our view of who we are changes. So for those who can keep the dream in their heart and mind throughout their transformation phase (from a kid to an adult), are some of the most unique people in existence.
Importance of WHO AM I:
The answer may not be that simple, but I have found some ways to get close to the answer. And why this question is important! Because if you want to become successful in your life you need the answer. you want to understand someone you need the answer, you want to raise your child or children you need the answer. If we don’t have a fraction of an understanding of who we are. How will we be able to understand the world around us?
Now the time we are living in… we usually forget about ourselves and try to become someone else, we try to copy those who are successful, and nowadays what is trending, we try to mimic those things, there is just one problem with this, doing this, we slowly become fake or duplicates, having no understanding of ourselves, and when we get old we will definitely think, why didn’t I do that? become that?
Now the ways that I have found useful may help you or may not. After all, all of us are different, so what worked for me may not work for you. Regardless, I would like to share them with you…here are the following ways:
List of Ways To Find Out WHO AM I:
1.Spend as much time as possible by yourself. Now I know this is an obvious thing, but spending time alone helps a lot in knowing who you are. When you are with your family, friends, relatives, etc., you behave differently, think differently, talk differently according to them. But when you are alone, you can be yourself and in order to fill that silence your mind will start to speak. It is initally very irritating because when the mind speaks, it only speaks negative things, but if you bear with it, through your thoughts (the thoughts you are having) you will slowly start to analyze the type of person you are.
2.Observing your likes and dislikes. It means the things you like, which can be anything from movies to books to people to characters. The simplest way to find out is to think about which movie is on your mind after watching it… specifically, which part… if you like a character, why do you like that character…..specifically which of his/her traits do you like the most, with which particular lyrics of a song you connect the most, etc. But knowing your likes is only half of the job done; you have to have a clear understanding of your dislikes too.
3.Listing your strengths and weaknesses. Things that you are good at and the things that you are bad at, things that you can’t do but want to learn, keep a list. This point not only helps you with your self-discovery but also with the second question that I asked earlier in the reading. This list also helps you before you involve yourself with any task. It will help you to know if you can properly execute the task or not. [UPDATED ON JUNE 2,2024]
Conclusion:
The three ways that I mentioned above are the most common and can help anyone. There are many others, but they vary from person to person. To be honest, even after doing all these, there is no guarantee one will have a perfect answer, but it will help you to walk through the world with a better understanding of yourself. One will feel much more confident, secure, and relaxed because for the first time in a long while, that person knows who they are and what they want. And they can set a goal and pave a path to reach that goal. They will know what they want and they will get it.
I want to conclude by saying that… Who am I?… It may be the easiest question to ask… but the hardest to answer!
[This post is available in audio format on Youtube. Click ME to listen to it.]
