knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom

Do you know you? Really, really know yourself? Understand your drives, motivations, triggers, deepest longings, most hidden fears? How self-aware are you truly? How much time have you spent studying yourself? Yes, studying yourself: standing aside from yourself, observing your thoughts, your emotions, your moods. Do this and you will be surprised at the linkages you will be able to tease out, the secrets that will rise up from within, the quiet voices you will hear once you still yourself.

Journaling, goal setting, meditation, and perhaps a bit of therapy (think of it as life coaching or guided tour inside): these are all excellent ways to gain perspective. When I set goals, I spend a fair amount of time asking myself “Why?” Why do I want this particular thing/event/skill, how will it change my life, how will I feel, how will I be different? I’ve found it fascinating and extremely insightful to go back and see how close I was, how well I predicted, how well I knew my future self. Often I found that what I thought I wanted wasn’t really what I wanted or that the journey (and who I became as a result) was so much more fun than the destination. You can’t get enough of what you don’t want.

Closing Quotes:

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.” – Will Rogers

“What doth it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world yet lose his own soul? What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” – Matt 16:26

“Possession of material riches, without inner peace, is like dying of thirst while bathing in a lake.” – Paramahansa Yogananda

As always, I share what I most want/need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier