We have desires as human beings to have peaceful, happy and fulfilling lives. As we strive to pursue these desires, we should first aim to know our purpose and make meaning of ourselves through self-discovery. Your identity is built through knowing yourself, and to know yourself, as once mentioned by Socrates, is the beginning of wisdom.
Self-knowledge makes it easier to define your happiness and to express yourself freely. You also develop self-control as you become aware, preventing yourself from doing certain things and pursuing other things. Knowing yourself builds resistance to peer pressure as you define the things to say no to.
Knowing yourself makes you understand not only yourself but others too as it enables you to empathise with them, hence building better relationships. Better decision making skills are also made possible through knowing yourself as you make choices that end up reducing conflicts and creating an alignment of whatever is going on in the outer world with your inner feelings.
Knowing yourself fully requires testing yourself so as to approve and eliminate things that are important and unimportant to you. You may at this point be wondering about how well you know yourself. Well, here are questions that will help you define and start a real conversation with yourself:
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What is your happiest memory?
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What are you truly passionate about?
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What would it take for you to feel loved by someone or yourself?
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What are three things that will instantly put a smile on your face?
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What legacy do you want to leave?
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Would you chose to stay or leave a bad relationship or job?
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What is your biggest failure in life?
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What are you doing here on earth to change humanity for the better?
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What are you most proud of?
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How would you like to be perceived by others?
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How do other people perceive you?
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What is your greatest fear?
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Who is a person you do not like to spend time with?
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What is the meaning of life?
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If you had to change one thing in your life, what would it be?
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How doers growing old feel like for you?
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What lies do you continuously tell those around you?
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What gifts and talents do you have but hide from others?
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What aspects in your life do you worry about?
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What do you do for fun?
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What is your proudest accomplishment?
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Would you rather spend time alone or with people?
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What do you want people to say at your funeral?
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How do you react when you fail?
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Do you depend on others to tell you what to do and not to do?
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Are there people that bring you down, hold you back or fail to bring you joy? Are there ways you can get rid of them or confront them about your displeasures?