Kickstart Your SELF-DISCOVERY with These 6 Steps
We thrive when we are learning, growing and evolving. If you are not changing, you are not living. Self-Discovery is “the process of acquiring insight into one's own character.” I am a continuous journey of self-exploration and am obsessed with continuously becoming a better version of myself. Here are six steps to take to dive into who you are and how to create a life where you soar.
1. Know your strengths and use them in all areas of your life. The VIA Inventory of Strengths is a psychological assessment measure designed to identify an individual's profile of character strengths. Bring your character strengths to life & live more fully. When you discover your greatest strengths, you learn to use them to handle stress and life challenges, become happier, and develop relationships with those who matter most to you. Take a free 15-minute survey here to discover your character strengths!
2. Assess the various areas of your life using The Wheel of Life tool. This exercise allows you to step back and evaluate where you feel that you and where you want to be in the future. I ask clients to write down 2-3 reasons why they scored themselves the way they did in each area and also to have a target on where they want to be in each area. Forward momentum happens when people think about how they can move forward in each area and start taking action.
3. Get to know who you were as a child. Our inner child is still very much a part of who we are and is our true essence. You can ask your parents, relatives, siblings, etc. to write you a short letter about how you were, and you can answer questions yourself. What did you love to do? How did you spend your time? What were you interested in? Who did you spend time with? What got you excited?
4. Understand and connect to your core values. Our values may change over time as life circumstances develop and prioritizing to know your personal values is a step towards living a happy life. There are a variety of books and assessments available to help you get crystal clear on your values. Here is a sample values survey. Once you know your top three values, think about how much of your day and week is aligned with your values. Determine where you are out of alignment and design your life to match your values.
5. Choose who will be your self-discovery partner. You can hire a life coach like I did a few years ago or choose a close friend, colleague, or family member. A tremendous amount of insight and awareness is created when you allow another person to actively listen, ask open-ended questions without judgement, and reframe your thinking. All day, every day, we have millions of thoughts that create our reality. I found breakthrough clarity when I could see and understand how I was thinking and processing the world. Accountability is a huge part of the transformational change process!
6. Accept that you are not perfect and that you never will be. In order to authentically discover yourself, you must be willing to look at yourself in the mirror honestly and have a willingness to grow and change. Self-acceptance and self-love are vital in this process as you start uncovering layers about yourself. You are amazing and we are on this journey together!