A majority of people have never met themselves. They are a
complete mystery to themselves and spend no time and effort to solve the
mystery. I recently took a quiz to understand my ‘personality’. I don’t know
what algorithm was used to discover my personality for me, I don’t know if it
was reliable or even safe. Now I think that the time I spent looking outside,
asking someone else about who I am and how I am, could’ve been spent asking
these questions to myself. Yes, taking a quiz is more convenient and definitely
time saving but is it accurate at all? Asking someone else about us, using our
five senses, which are all outward looking, is it a reliable way to discover
oneself? Before we dig into this, why should we even know ourselves?
Yes, it helps in job interviews but even there our answers
are fabricated to suit the needs of the interviewer. I remember borrowing
answers to this question from my friends. We were all honest and smart-working with an eye for detail and constantly pushed
ourselves to exceed expectations. I am sure we were not the only ones. Of
the many problems that such a response would create one is that there will be a
vast disconnect between the job requirements and the capability of the
candidate. And such responses are then mimicked in our lives as well, creating
a vast difference between reality and perception. This not only leaves us
confused but also suppresses our potential. A person who doesn’t know
himself/herself will never know what they are capable of, what the goal of
their life is, what path they should take to be successful in life. They’ll be
just a broken log in a flood.
But knowing oneself, the process itself is fascinating.
Well, for one, you are bound to find yourself cool. If you don’t then, aren’t
you cool enough that you find yourself less cool? Get it? It’s a paradox. Just
imagine talking to yourself, looking at yourself, what are you wearing? How are
you feeling? How do you look? Ask questions that you would ask a stranger who
you want to be friends with. Don’t think before answering, you’ll be fascinated
with your own answers. That’s you telling yourself who you are, what you like
and dislike, what you want to do, what you are good at and the dreaded
interview questions like your strengths and weaknesses. You may write down your
answers as well if you like, so you can revisit them later and remind yourself
of…well…yourself.
It was one of the best meetings I had when I met myself. A
lot of pretensions were cleared and I got to know what I didn’t know that I didn’t
know. The ideas by which I had been living my life were shattered and it wasn’t
the end of the world. For once, I faced the truth and accepted it without
colouring it with my own perceptions. For once, there was no gap between
reality and perception and I felt like I had meditated. It was like finding a
long lost friend.
