Have you been searching for ways to understand yourself better? Being aware of who you are and affirming all of your qualities—good and bad—can be a challenging journey, but one worthwhile nonetheless.
If you want to know some quick ways you can begin this process and become more in-tune with who you are, take a look at these steps on how to understand yourself better.
1. Journal
Journaling can be a soothing activity on your subconscious because you’re allowing your mind to release thoughts that you normally ignore throughout the day. Get rid of the anxiety in your head by putting it all on paper, or write about topics that you most want to ignore so that you reveal deep-rooted issues.
Writing your thoughts down consistently can give you a clear window into who you are and help you understand yourself better.
2. Meditate
Take 15-20 minutes in the morning or at night to quiet your mind and focus on the thoughts running through your head. Practice deep breathing, stay in a calm environment and notice the ideas that naturally come to you.
Once you establish peace within yourself, you’ll be more connected with your inner being, which is a huge part of understanding yourself better.
3. Practice Positive Affirmations
Loving yourself unconditionally is hard to do sometimes, but it’s the most necessary for understanding yourself. Self-acceptance comes after you’re aware of who you are—your strengths, your fallibilities, your imperfections, your skills, and much more. This begins with positive affirmations.
Try speaking, writing, and thinking positive thoughts about yourself daily, and be specific. Say them to yourself in front of the mirror to be extra bold.
4. Take Risks
Life is nothing if you have a constant fear of failure. Accept that you’re not going to be perfect all the time, and go after what you want. Life is too short not to seek out new opportunities!
When you view risks as adventures, you’ll be able to embrace everything in your journey—even mistakes, challenges, and losses. Then, by exploring alternative routes, you can discover what people, places, hobbies, careers, and objects you like best.
5. Keep Learning
Educate yourself with classes, videos, podcasts, and general experiences that you otherwise wouldn’t try. Keep your mind active and engage in different activities so that you know for certain what you like, what you don’t like, what you understand, what you find challenging, and what you want to explore further.
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6. Have Meaningful Conversations
Relationships also give you better insight into how you view and understand yourself. Make a habit of avoiding small talk with friends, family, and strangers to appreciate everyone’s uniqueness fully.
You can’t get to know someone by discussing the weather, and likewise, no one—not even yourself—can better understand you if you only talk about surface information.
Be vulnerable and trusting in conversations with those you love.
7. Try Creative Activities
You would be surprised by how much you can better understand yourself when you give your imagination permission to be free.
The inner part of you that desires to be creative all the time would finally have an outlet. Creative activities can be endless: coloring, drawing, painting, sewing, writing, playing music, designing, crafting, singing, acting, and more. Pick your favorite, or try them all!
8. Identify Your Values
At first, it might be difficult to recognize every one of your values. If you’re having trouble with this one, start with what you absolutely will not tolerate.
What are your unfavorable qualities in yourself and in others? On the flip side, what do you like most about yourself? What characteristics do you find admirable in people closest to you? Do you care about people? Animals? Religion?
Determining your values contributes to understanding who you are as a whole.
9. Explore Spiritual Alternatives
Astrology, Tarot cards, Numerology, and other spiritual practices are all ways to gain insight about your personality traits and how they relate to your journey on Earth.
You don’t have to take any of it too seriously if it conflicts with your current religion. However, all of these options can be a way to find answers about who you are and what kind of life you might have.
10. Use Personality Quizzes
Have you ever found out your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MTBI)? Do you know your level of emotional intelligence? Are you a narcissist? These psychology-based personality assessments give you factual insight into the traits of your personality.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to understanding yourself, no one can do it better than you. Although it may take some time to fully recognize all of your personality characteristics, what you value, and even your life journey, there are many ways shown here that allow you to become more aware of who you are.
Utilize all of these steps or just the ones you like best. Every one of them leads to a road of positive self-discovery, which can benefit you for the rest of your life.
