What is Self Exploration
Have you ever asked questions to yourself like – What do I want from life ? How much success I will achieve in life ? What things make me happy and sad in life ? What is unique about myself ? Which things give me satisfaction in life? I am sure the answer would most likely be yes.
Self exploration is a journey:
- To explore our inner self
- It is about being honest with self
- Take a pause to self contemplate
- Listening to your inner voice
The thought about self exploration can strike at any stage of life from as early as childhood to when you are at pinnacle of your career to when you are living a happy satisfied life.
Benefits of Self Exploration
Are you thinking how does knowing myself affects or changes my life ? Yes it can have a big impact in your life, it will significantly improve your three self’s
- Self esteem
- Self awareness
- Self confidence
Having a better idea of your core values and your authentic self will make you more happy and satisfied with your life, you will be able to accept your shortcomings, you will be able to deal with sadness and hard times in your life, not the least it will help you identify your goals in life and give your the definition of what success means to you.
Happiness does not always comes with money or great success in career, it can come by doing a voluntary job to help the needy people or just giving time to yourself to do things which you really like, like going to a church or temple, going for a nature walk, listening to your favorite music or talking to your school/college time buddies. Point is, you should know what really makes you happy.
How to Self Explore
Fact is there’s no better time then now to start self-exploration and it is not a task which finishes in few months or years but a constant journey to be in touch with yourself throughout your life.
Self exploration might sound like a complex and confusing concept but keep it simple. Start self exploration by asking yourself some challenging questions for which you do not get a straight answer but you have to keep asking yourself the same question over and over again until you are satisfied with your answer:
- What I really want from life – money, fame, top executive job, travel around the world or ……….
- What makes me happy – party with friends, being isolated from the world for a week or helping a poor or………
- What do I regret or what have I missed in life ?
- Keep trying new things – you won’t know what you really like until you give it a shot !
Don’t worry if you do not get complete answers to the above questions, after all the self-exploration journey is all about discovering what the full picture is. Don’t hurry up to get the answers or pick the first thought that comes to your mind, carefully consider your responses as self exploration takes time.
Just remember, no one gets all the things they want from life but if you accept yourself, accept your successes and failures and are content with what you have achieved then you are one of the most happiest and satisfied persons in the world.
The Bottom Line
Self-exploration is important because it allows us to discover our true selves and to gain a better understanding of our strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values. It can help us to become more self-aware and mindful of our thoughts and feelings, and to gain clarity and insight into who we are and what we want out of life. Self-exploration can also help us to identify our goals and to make meaningful changes in our lives. Through self-exploration, we can learn to trust ourselves and to make decisions based on our values and beliefs.
The process of self exploration will look different for every individual, it’s not something that will finish in few weeks but takes patience and long enough time to convince ourselves with our answers. Do not be afraid to meander off the main road, the more ground you cover through self exploration the more you will discover about yourself.
