The Importance of Knowing... “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle, Greek philosopher, student of Plato, teacher of Alexander the Great, considered one of the greatest philosophers of all time (384 – 322 B.C.) We might think that we know ourselves fairly well, but when it comes to being able to see past our blind side, we’re often pretty much in the dark. The thing is that we become accustomed to our certain view of the world and are disinclined to want to change what seems comfortable and reliable. The problem with this line of thinking is that we could very well be wrong, in particular, wrong about ourselves and our capabilities. For example, we may be laboring under the impression that we aren’t capable of undertaking a certain task. It will take too long and we don’t have the stamina, we might tell ourselves. Or, we lack the required knowledge and are not in a position to take the time to acquire it. This is another frequently uttered reason for not going after something that we could otherwise get involved in. But what is really going on here? Are we just deluding ourselves, using any excuse to avoid taking a risk? Maybe at the root of it all is a fear that we might actually succeed in the endeavor, that we might discover we’re good at something that we never thought possible. Who is being shortchanged here? It isn’t our fellow group members, family, acquaintances or co-workers. It is us that gets the short end of the stick. We can change all that. To start, we have to give ourselves permission to get to know that inner person that we keep hidden in the dark. We may be afraid to let that inner self peek out and see the light of day, fearing that blindness will result – or failure, or success, or any of a number of different calamities that we conjure up. How do we learn anything, though, if we are unwilling to take a risk? We don’t know at the outset how our learning experience is going to turn out. Some of us may regard learning something new as anathema, based largely on past experiences that were anything but fond memories. We have the chance to alter our view of our capabilities and our abilities by giving ourselves the benefit of the doubt. Instead of automatically jumping to the conclusion that we cannot possibly succeed, or that the activity, goal or task is not anything that we should or could involve ourselves in, allow the possibility that this just might be a good exercise to undertake. If nothing else, it will open up new horizons, stretch our somewhat limited boundaries and give us a glimpse into latent talents. Who knows, we might even find the process enjoyable. While it may seem like a strange endeavor at the outset, if we immerse ourselves in the learning process, we will not only discover many new things in the world that we had previously closed ourselves off to, we will also learn a great deal about us. And the wisdom will begin to cascade from here. Remember, the desire to learn and to grow, once it is unleashed, will provide ever more opportunities as we go forward. It all starts with knowing ourselves.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 23:18:39 +0000
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