Knowing yourself is extremely important for every person and their life path. It is through this process that a person finds their place in life and society, determines their own meaning of life, goals, ideals and aspirations. These five simple techniques will help you in this process. Take a notebook and a pen and do not say that you will do it just in your mind if you want to get results.
Technique №1. Bring Back Your Inner Child Interest
Answer the question: what did you like to do as a child? Even before your parents started to push into you the idea that “drawing won’t earn you a living” or “dancing is not serious.” Write down three things that really interested you as a child. This is a small hint as to what you should strive for.
Don’t be lazy in writing this down. When you complete all 5 techniques, you will learn something about yourself that you may not have realized before.
TECHNIQUE №2. Looking for Patterns: 20 Favorite Activities
Now let’s make a list of your 20 favorite activities. Even if some of them seem trivial to you (eating delicious food, for example), write them down anyway. Once the list is ready, look closely at these activities. Do you see any patterns? Maybe your list is dominated by activities related to helping people? Or some kind of sports activities? Or activities related to calm monotonous work? Understand what groups this list can be divided into. It will help you understand what kind of life you would like to live.
TECHNIQUE №3. Your Perfect Environment
If no one believes in you, then believing in yourself becomes even more difficult. Unfortunately, the environment in which we are accustomed to growing up does not encourage the creation of geniuses.
Imagine that the world has changed overnight to suit your needs. And in the morning it will be filled with the kind of people you want. What will these people be like? What qualities do they have? Maybe they are all creative or, on the contrary, are they people who passed the strength of materials exam with an A+? Maybe they do everything quickly or, on the contrary, you would like to slow down the world?
What have you learned about yourself and what do you need to fully express yourself?
Do the exercise in writing.
TECHNIQUE №4. Five Lives
Now imagine: you will have five lives. And in each of them you can become whoever you want. How will you live these five lives?
This exercise, like all the others, can be customized to suit you. If you can do it in three lives, take three. If you need ten, don’t deny yourself anything.
So, imagine that you will devote one life to biology, the second to professional travel, the third to having a big family with a bunch of children, in the fourth you will become a sculptor, and in the fifth, an astronaut. Which one do you like more?
The most important thing to understand here is this: if you have to choose only one life, even the one you like the most, you will still miss the others. Because they are an integral part of you. We have been told: “Make up your mind!” And this is sad.
There are people in the world, who are born for a single purpose, but they are a rare exception. Each of your lives contains something that you deeply love and need. And you can bring it into your life.
TECHNIQUE №5. My Perfect Day
Now we are going to take a long walk through your imagination. Take a pen and a piece of paper, and let’s go. So, how do you see your ideal day?
Live this day in the present tense and in all the details: where do you wake up, what kind of house is it, who is lying next to you, what do you eat for breakfast, what clothes do you wear, what do you do, what kind of work are you doing, are you at home or in the office?
Do not limit your imagination. Describe the day you would live if you had absolute freedom, unlimited resources and all the strength and skills you could ever dream of.
After you have compiled the list, divide all your fantasies into three groups:
1. What do you need like air?
2. What is optional, but you would still really like to have?
3. What can you do without?
Our life consists of life experiences, stories, roles, relationships, earnings, skills. Some of these are our own choices. Some of what we call our choices are actually compromises. Some are accidents. Some of these are necessary and very expensive. But none of these are you.
Focus on yourself. Find what you love. And start moving towards your purpose.
Main photo by Chalo Garcia
Translated by Maria Zayats
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Love is unconditional, relationships are not
Татьяна Ходакова
Практический психолог
Интегративный подход
