And at the same time better relate to others.
Answering the simple question, “Who are you?” is often complicated. Depending on the context of the conversation, you might respond with a fact about yourself, an aspect of your worldview, some adjectives, a series of letters or a single number.
But who are you, really? Without the context.
The question is big, and the answers highly individualized, especially in Western culture.
The journey to knowing ourselves starts “the moment we start to have awareness of self,” said Nadine Hanchar, a Victoria, British Columbia-based counselor and Neuro-Linguistic Programming Trainer.
Early-on in development, we start gaining self-awareness through steps like recognizing our face in the mirror, which happens during the toddler years. As we grow and change, we also grow in our self-awareness. Hanchar has noticed individuals wanting to dive deeper in knowing themselves during the working years of life.
“I think there are more people age 25–65 that are ready to explore self-awareness,” Hanchar said, adding, anyone at any age can benefit from learning more about themselves through avenues like taking a personality test.
Why do we seek to know more about who we are? Experts say we’re wired for wanting a deeper understanding of ourselves, so we can work to become better versions of who we are and better relate to others.
“It’s kind of like our fascination with a mirror,” said Oklahoma City-based Clinical Psychotherapist Kevon Owen. “As people, we want to know how we look to others. [We] want to know if there’s an explanation for why we are the way we are. Strangely enough, we want to be unique individuals, but we want to know we can experience the connection that comes through being understood.”
Kevon Owen is a contributing author to this article. For the complete article please click this link.
