Know Thyself
To tell authentic life stories, the Greek adage (that has been discussed ad nauseum throughout time) is a crucial place to start.
One of the things I can confidently claim about myself is how much self-reflection I’ve done throughout my life. My exercise in awareness is considered a blessing or a curse, depending on who you ask—yet one thing it has proven to me is that the title of this blog post is imperative for telling courageous life stories.
Using the Explore>Engage>Express framework, we can reveal much about ourselves and the journey through knowing thyself.
EXPLORE—This phase is important for many reasons when we are ‘getting to know’ ourselves.
We spend an immense amount of time in constructs in which we are comfortable, such as 1) doing what has always been done or 2) frameworks constructed by others who have taught us/told us things that we have embraced without true reflection about how it fits for us personally…and a plethora of other things that need to be discovered or rediscovered.
Exploration of any kind—especially discovery of the self—requires we step outside those constructs and head down unknown paths.
ENGAGE—Doing something that expands our personal journeys becomes the action part of the exploratory phase of our life stories, so engage in things that go beyond what you already know, what you already do, and what you have been told by people and institutions outside of you. Know thyself (not just the perspectives of others). Shape-shift from routine knowledge and see what you encounter when you free yourself from the bondage of prescription and dogma.
Your truth lies within—and no better way to discover it than to engage in things that take you out of your comfort zone.
EXPRESS—My favorite form of self-discovery is self-expression. I learn more about myself by conversing, moving, and creating. I’m sure you have your preferred forms of expression. Go there. Express. You will learn a ton about yourself by doing so.
No matter where you are in your self-discovery journey, nodding to the Greek proclamation of Know Thyself will enrich the journey and help you live and tell your best life story.
If you’d like to peek inside a bit of my life story, grab your copy of my short story narrative, NO MATTER WHAT, dedicated to my dad. The story depicts a time when the foundation was laid for me to begin to know myself. I think you’ll enjoy the humor and wisdom the story entails. You can find it here.