The journey to self-knowledge
You may think you know yourself, until one day you realize you don’t. In life, new obstacles, opportunities, and influences taint our judgments of the outside world. As we get older, we start to think we know it all, and it’s easy to get sucked into a routine with little room for internal growth.
According to Dan Rockwell, the first step toward self-knowledge is realizing that you actually don’t have it – and never will.
In his article, Rockwell explains that the main reason for this inability is our own personal misjudgment of ourselves. We may think we understand who we are to the fullest extent, but even through all that time trying to understand ourselves, we are still naturally blind to a good portion of our strengths, weaknesses, and inclinations.
Although this sounds like a difficult realization, the sooner we recognize that there’s more to discover about ourselves, the more room we create to grow. People shine when they realize they actually have abilities they didn’t realize they possessed. You grow when you exercise these untapped abilities.
Rockwell concludes the article with some tips on growing in your self-knowledge – through others. By revealing yourself to those around you in all aspects of life, you’ll be able to overlook your biases of yourself and listen to others’ full understanding of you.
As leaders, it’s necessary to grow in all aspects of life, and that starts with owning who you are. By identifying that you haven’t fully understood yourself yet, you open yourself up to many more opportunities for growth.