“Man go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.” 

— St. Augustine

Now let me re-phrase that:

“Many spend hours wondering about the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Aliko Dangote and all: “How do they spend their mornings? What do they have for breakfast? Where do they go on weekends?” They spend days studying biographies of great men and women in history but… Never a day have they spent, in the whole of their lives, to study themselves.”

— Mind Convos

You may ask: Don’t we need good references and examples to truly make something of ourselves?

Well, you guessed right. The answer is YES.

Of course we need good examples. We need to study great personalities and possibly let ourselves be influenced by our discoveries about them. Sadly, many spend an unreasonable part of their lives (valuable time that could have been invested into their own lives) catching up on the affairs of other people: friends, family, celebrities, and other influential people around the world. They forget that…

“Someone who spends their days studying great men/ women without improving or working on themselves will only end up being a great story teller, eloquent at telling the stories of others with nothing of their own to contribute.” 

— Mind Convos

Now I ask:

Do you plan on re-living another man’s life? Do you wish to replicate another man’s life while yours stays waiting to be lived?

If your answer is NO then it is time to take a tour around yourself: your strengths, weaknesses, talents and abilities, and make that discovery no man can ever make because you are the only one with the capacity to discover yourself! You are the only one who spends 24 hours, 7 days with yourself therefore no other other man or woman should know you better than you know yourself!

Let’s find out: Why is self discovery so important?!

Take a look at the world today and you will see that a large number of people in the world are living in utter confusion and frustration. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), suicide remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States with about 40, 000 Americans taking their own lives annually. While the reason behind this may be vary, chronic depression is a major symptom which drives a person to commit suicide.

Many people struggle with depression on a daily basis and the rise of the digital age  (social media) plays a major role in this.

With friends uploading pictures and information to show off the high points of their lives— all the glamour and glitter of celebrities brought to you in an instant via your mobile phones and so on— the world seems to be moving really fast and a lot of people who tend to feel left behind, struggle on a daily basis to catch up with the world. They put in so much effort to live up to the standards imposed on them by the society they live in.

Many have lost their identity and some don’t even have a clue as to who they are… Hence, they remain confused and frustrated all their lives.

In this world, a person who doesn’t “know” themselves would be so easily swept up and lost in the wind of conflicting opinions and ideas of others.

On the other hand, a person who knows and understands themselves knows their place in the society they live in: Their strengths and abilities, their weaknesses and are also aware of their mistakes. They know they are not perfect and are also aware of the imperfections of others. Hence, they are not unnecessarily judgmental neither are they easily daunted by the destructive criticisms of others. They therefore, win the admiration of friends and enemies alike. Their opinions are respected whether they agree with the situation or not.

Self discovery is the first and major step to developing unwavering self confidence.

END NOTES

“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
— Ursula LeGuin

• Taking time to study other people is not a bad thing rather it is an important step to discovering yourself.

• When your desire to know others, to learn from people who have amounted to something in life is backed up by a strong purpose— one that entails acquiring knowledge for personal development— and also, is backed up by an urge to make something great of your own existence, you are well on your way to greatness and/or fulfillment.

Now take some time to reflect on your own life:

• Do you constantly feel a certain desire to impress people or a certain category of people?

• Do you feel depressed whenever you see other people’s updates about their own progress?

• Do you feel unusually depressed or sad whenever you get insulted or criticized?

• Do you at any point feel like you’d never be fulfilled in life?

If your answer to any or all of these questions is yes then you’ve got a lot of work to do. Don’t just sit and whine about how life is unfair to you, or how things don’t seem to work out well for you compared to your peers. It is obvious that you have been living in ignorance all this while.

Therefore, waste no more time. Embark on one of the most rewarding journeys you can ever imagine: THE JOURNEY TO SELF-DISCOVERY. 

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