7 Ways To Get To Know Yourself

This past year I took the entire year limiting myself to events (non-work related), meditating, thinking, spending quality time with myself to get to know what I like, dislike, want, don't want, evaluating triggers and feelings. In order to be the best ME I can be, I have to know what I am working for. So do you. How can you really give anything or work towards something when you aren't sure what you're doing it all for.

Have you woken up in the morning and thought............OMG I should be so much further in life? Or Why am I not pursuing my passions? Or Do I really want to commit this much of my time doing that?

It is scary when you go through the motions of life and not actually spend life LIVING LIFE. Here are 7 ways to get to know yourself and find out what truly matters to you and where you want to go in life.

#1 Meditation: I have expressed this so much in many of my blogs, but truly this has opened my eyes to so many things. Go to a quiet, clean, welcoming place, play low mediation music, and clear your mind. Think of nothing (it's hard at first) and let thoughts come in without focusing on them. You will soon start to envision what your life should be like. You'll recognize things that bother you, that you may not have even known bothered you. Pay attention to your body language, if you tense up or calm down when having certain thoughts. As time goes on and you do it more, you will begin to feel a sense of self and awareness to things in your life.

#2 Self Quality Time: Do something alone. Watch a movie, do a puzzle, paint a picture, go to dinner alone, go to a movie alone, do a meditation retreat alone, etc. Doing things alone lets you see if it is something you enjoy doing, or if you do it because others ask you to. When you get pleasure doing something alone, but not with certain people, you begin to learn the true you.

#3 Self Retreat/Vacation: Take some time away from the everyday hustle and bustle of things. Go on a short vacation alone, or do a meditation retreat by yourself. A meditation retreat is getting a hotel somewhere and finding places to go that make you smile, happy & feel free. For example, you visit a museum on your retreat. Then go back to your room and mediate for a few hours. Writing down goals and looking into your future. A vacation can be a place you always wanted to go or just a short drive somewhere. It's up to you.

#4 Think about what you say: When you are around certain people think about how you react to them. Do they bring you pleasure or pain? Are you happy to see them or dreadful? Do you say things to them in a pleasant way or irritated way? When you watch your tone with people you can determine how you feel around them. It can determine if you want to spend more or less time with them. This helps you determine what type of people you want to be around.

#5 Investigate your career: This is a big thing for many people. So many people don't actually have a career. They have a job. When you're doing something you love, it doesn't seem like work. If you feel like you're working all the time, you feel overwhelmed, irritated and stressed. Being stressed can cause health issues. Investigating your career means reaching yourself to determine what you really want to do with your life career wise. When you are comfortable with that you can be comfortable with yourself.

#6 Investigate your relationship status: Many single people want to be married, some people married want to be single, and some single are happy to be single and married are happy to be married. Where are you? I find many people out searching for the perfect person and that is all they care about. Then you find couples who seem happy, have a destructive relationship. Only you can determine what works for you. If you have a void in the relationship department, it can keep you from feeling like you know yourself. It's great to have a partner, however; determine what is best for you in your life at this moment.

#7 Find your happy food: This seems funny, but take time to find what food makes you smile. Instead of vices such as drinking, drugs, sleeping, etc. Find a food that can make you happy. This isn't saying go eat all the time when you are down, what I am saying is on occasion, when you feel down, lonely or depressed you can make your favorite food and during the process think about how it makes you feel. Then simply enjoy it.

When you get to know yourself, you become the best version of you there is. You know what you like, dislike, where you want to be and with whom you want to be there with. You can focus on the positive instead of the negative and have a happier life. Grow, live, and change the world. Keep growing and inspiring.