Ways to Get to Know Yourself Better
With the weather slowly warming, budding trees, & flowers blooming, it feels as if spring is well underway. While we welcome in the new season, many of us adopt the idea of a “Spring Cleaning”. This could look like cleaning the one storage closet you promised yourself you’d “get to eventually”. Maybe it’s organizing & donating clothes from decades past. Yet, the idea of “cleaning” can also be on an internal level. While it is nice to clean our physical space, deep reflection & practice can refresh our internal space as well. This kind of a “cleaning” can look like setting & improving our routines, establishing beneficial self-care practices, journaling with intent, or exploring other areas that could use improvement. Yet, the key to cleaning our internal state is how well we are in touch with ourselves as individuals, mentally & physically. It can be a difficult task to improve these areas of ourselves if we do not feel we have a strong basis or sense of who we are as individuals, as well as who we strive to be. Understanding ourselves & what changes can make us the best version of ourselves is truly such an important tool to have. Below I have curated five tips in helping understand & get to know yourself better!
1
Take Time to Visualize Yourself & Who You Want to Be
Begin by taking some time by yourself to reflect on all you have accomplished so far, what goals you have set & have yet to accomplish, and most importantly who you perceive yourself to be. How do you see yourself? Is how you see yourself in the present moment how you envision yourself in the future? Furthermore, how do you present yourself to your friends, family, and the rest of the world? Does the way you present yourself to others align with how you view yourself? Are you presenting yourself in the way you envisioned yourself to? What changes could you make to become the person you have always envisioned yourself to be?
2
Spend Time Truly Alone
As someone who has spent most of her time alone as of late, this tip is one of the most important and effective ones on my curated list. Most people find alone time to be daunting in nature, as if isolation is always a tortuous practice. I can assure you that is hardly true. Yes, as humans we are innately social beings & are certainly meant to spend our times surrounded by companionship rather than in solitude. But our individual self is also all we can be certain we have all through our lives. And so, spending time in solitude is not always something to fear, but something to embrace. I find spending time with myself to be something empowering in nature. Through my bouts of time spent with only myself, I learned a lot about who I am, who & what I’d like to attract into my life, & how important the trust I have in myself is in this world. Spending time alone is truly one of my favorite ways to spend some of my days because not only is there peace in doing so, but you learn to understand yourself in such a special way. A great way to begin the practice of solitude is to take yourself out on a date. Spend the day or evening doing an activity you love, dining at your favorite restaurant, or taking a calm stroll & reflect on who you are and your present personality.
3
Review the company you keep
The people who you surround yourself with can make a big difference on the way you visualize and envision your present and future self. Think about the people you spend your time with. Do they have the same values & traits you wish to have or envision for yourself? Do their morals, values, and/or goals align with yours? How can you better surround yourself with peers who hold the same morals & values as you?
4
Make a list
If you know me, you know how much I love lists. Truthfully, they come in handy for just about every scenario! Make a list of good qualities or the things you like most about yourself. Similarly, make a list of qualities or aspects of yourself or life you’d like to improve upon. This list is similar to that of a pros & cons list, just accentuating what amazing aspects and qualities you can further build on, as well as what habits and patterns to release and let go of.
5
Reflect Upon your daily routine
It may be helpful to take a look at & reflect upon your daily routine. What does it look like? What beneficial routines & habits do you have? Which aspects of your routine are holding you back or not fostering growth? What do these habits & routines say about the person you are or the person you wish to be?
