You certainly went through those moments when you had to make a small description or name some of your qualities and flaws. There is a huge possibility that those tasks may have seemed impossible and would bring you a lot of frustration. Therefore, we can say that knowing yourself is an important step to achieve happiness and peace.

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in society’s preconceptions about who you should be and lose touch with your core values, needs and desires. And if you don’t know yourself very well, it’s difficult to make a life that makes you feel happy and fulfilled. You may also find yourself in relationships that don’t really suit you, or you may feel lonely because no one sees you for what you are with “true.”

Why is it important to truly know yourself?

As human beings, we can spend a lot of time worrying about our relationships with other people. But in reality, the only relationship that really matters in life is the one you have with yourself. We can identify certain reasons why it is essential to find out who you really are.

• Independence – Self-knowledge makes you independent of the opinions of others. If you know what works for you – what’s good for you and therefore what doesn’t – it’s irrelevant what others might think. You are the expert of your own being. You are responsible for your thoughts and you are your own personality. Independence and self-awareness are also linked to trust. Knowing who you are and what you represent in life can help you be more confident in your own strengths.
• Better decision-making – when you know yourself, you can make better choices about everything from small decisions, like what sweater you’re going to buy, to big decisions, which partner you’ll spend your life with. You’ll have rules that you can apply to solve different problems.
• Self-love -If you know yourself, the good one, the bad one and the ugly one why not, you can start to agree as you are. It can be a challenge to take on some aspects of your character that you don’t perceive to be positive, such as laziness.
• Self-control -When you know yourself, you understand what motivates you to resist bad habits and develop good ones. You will have the knowledge to know what values and goals motivate you.

How can we get to know ourselves better?

Daily reflection and meditation can help you cultivate a deeper understanding of your identity. As time goes on, you can rely on these findings to create a deep and meaningful relationship with yourself. Below are some tips on what you could do to get to know yourself better.

• Learn to be honest with yourself – The goal is not to criticize yourself, but to recognize all sides of your personality. Be open to the possibility to learn new things about yourself. When you evaluate yourself, pay attention to things that make you uncomfortable. These emotional signals can tell you if you’re trying to avoid a topic. Are you unsure about this feature? If so, what can you do to overcome it?
• Ask yourself well-thought-out questions. This knowledge can help you figure out what makes you happy or stressed. You can use this information to better choose those activities and goals that are productive for you. A few questions you can ask yourself might be :What do you like to do?, What are your dreams in life?, How would you like others to perceive yourself?, What are some mistakes you’ve made?.
• Determine your values and set a moral code you want to live. Do you consider yourself an honest person with integrity? Do you find comfort in helping others less fortunate? Are you a loyal friend? Your morals or values say a lot about who you really are.
• Discover your strengths and weaknesses. What special skills or talents do you have? Are you the one who responds quickly and takes control in emergencies or are you looking at others for guidance? When you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can improve your self-esteem, build your confidence and put things in perspective.
• Evaluate your relationships. A broad aspect of self-knowledge can be found in your relationships. When you realize that you won’t really know anyone else until you discover yourself, the importance of self-knowledge becomes even more obviously. Almost as much as you need to know yourself and other people need to know who you are. People need you – real you.

There is no time when it is better to start the process of self-knowledge. It’s obvious that if you do this early in your life, you can avoid going through experiences and relationships that don’t really suit you.