Understanding Yourself - Steps to Understanding and Accepting Who You Are

By Bev A Robinson 

Sometimes we lack a realistic view and understanding of ourselves which can lead to feelings of being "lost" in our lives and depression. Understanding yourself helps you to accept yourself the way you are, and in turn, makes you a happier person. You cannot control everything in life, but if you understand yourself and make good choices based on who you really are and knowing what you want out of life, you can definitely begin to enjoy life to the fullest.
Here are a few steps to start you on the road of understanding yourself:
Step 1: Accept that you are unique and valuable in your own special way, just as you are. We all matter to our close friends and family. You are very important both for yourself and to others.
Step 2: Now you need to dig deep to understand the real YOU, without any pretenses. Set time aside to do this exercise. Explore the way you really feel about yourself, you can start with answering a few questions like:
What are the fears and beliefs that are holding you back?
Are you living your life or are you just existing from day to day?
What makes you truly happy?
What are the things that you know you can do well?
What is your self talk? Negative? Positive?
Do you treat yourself and others with respect?
Do you take responsibility for your life or do you feel like a victim of your circumstances?
What do you want out of life?
In understanding yourself as much as you can, you start to gain confidence in your strengths and you will also recognize your weaknesses. Rather than shying away from your flaws, you could help yourself better by accepting them and working on them. Build an honest picture of who you truly are. Maybe you can ask close friends and family members, whose opinions you respect, to give you honest feedback on their perception of you and how you interact with them and respond to situations.
Step 3: Once you understand yourself, you can always work to better yourself, but it should be because of what you want to achieve in life and what you expect from yourself, not because you believe it to be what others want from, or expect from you. Remember there is no reason for you change who you are, unless you feel it will be beneficial to you and move you in the direction of the way you ultimately want to live your life.
Understanding yourself means being comfortable with who you are and what you are. It also helps you realize your strengths and weaknesses so you can accept and embrace yourself - warts and all.

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