Know Thyself!

Celebrating “YOU!” | Ideas from Great Minds

The ‘Courage’ to be Yourself!

We, as human beings in general, and as learners in particular, always regard the ‘cultured’ self, which is conditioned by the society in which we live, as the true form of self-identity that establishes our individual worth, truth and merit!

Any personal development, professional growth or career advancement is always seen from this ‘vantage’ point of view, that we fear and dread the very fact to be different!

‘Why did you take to Engineering?’

“My parents forced me into it. So I had no other option.”

‘But why-o-why?’

“That’s the way of the world, they say!”

‘What do you mean by the ‘way of the world’?’

“The way society goes about doing things in general.”

‘What if you don’t go by the ‘normative’ dictates of ‘society’?”

‘I probably would be stereotyped as a ‘cultural misfit’!’

Many of us are, like this pavapetta learner, easily swayed by the ‘dictums of society’ imposed on us, the restrictions and the clutters, the pressures and the pulls, from parents and kith and kin, that inhibit and retard our free selves, the stale, clichéd normatives of society that stifle us from celebrating the true, liberated ‘self’ within us all!

‘Society’ hates it with such fierce hatred, when you try to celebrate your own personal space, by stepping aside and gently moving away from the ‘basic givens!’

‘Society’ looks down upon you with contempt when you attempt at venturing into a field that people would call ‘highly insane’!

‘Society’ would even call you a ‘misfit’ if your thoughts, your ideas, your way of life and your sense of self, are way out of the box!

But you can’t blame society for it!

That’s because, that’s the way society has always been!

At the same time, there have been great thinkers, stalwarts, philosophers and motivational authors down the ages who have always exhorted us hard to celebrate our sense of ‘self’!

To Aristotle, “Knowing oneself is the beginning of true wisdom!”

To Pythagoras, ‘Only if you know yourself, you can then know the universe and God!’

To Jiddu Krishnamurti, ‘To know yourself you need not go to any book, to any priest, to any psychologist. The whole treasure is within yourself’ and so, ‘the more you know yourself, the more clarity there is’!

Similarly, there have also been a host of motivational experts who have exhorted us all to ‘dare to be different’!

From Edward de Bono, who’s given us tips to go out of the box in our thinking,

To Steven Covey who’s given us motivation enough to prioritise the individual ‘character ethic’ over the ‘personality ethic’,

To Daniel Goleman who has prioritized the ‘emotional’ over the ‘Intellectual’,

To Malcolm Gladwell, who’s given us the 80/20 principle, where the 80% of the work are done by the 20 percent of the participants,

To Norman Vincent Peale, who’s waxed eloquent on the power that comes along with positive thinking, to help people suffering from huge inferiority complexes and those having lost faith in themselves to come out of these quagmire stuff, and regain self-esteem and faith.

To Luminita D. Saviuc, author of the inspirational book titled, 15 Things You Should Give Up to be Happy, she quotes a very interesting study done by Professors at Harvard University who found out that,

‘All children are born geniuses; 9,999 out of every 10,000 are swiftly, inadvertently degeniusized by grown-ups’.

This study proves a very interesting and inspiring thought, she says!

That -  

Intelligence is not an inherited trait, nor is it something that only special people possess, but rather there is genius in each and every one of us.

This is something you should never doubt. Something you should never forget. And even though at times your mind will try to convince you that there’s nothing unique and special about you, you should never doubt that there truly is.

You should never doubt that there is something in you that is unique, powerful and of great value, that there is a beautiful reason for your existence and a great purpose for your life, because there is.

We are all born gifted; we are all born geniuses.

There is something unique, valuable and very precious in each and every one of us.

We all possess unique gifts and talents that are meant to be our gifts to the world.

And in time we will be able to realize that who we are matters, and that the work we hold in our hearts is of great value and of great importance.

There’s no such thing as intelligent and less intelligent people.

There’s no such thing as worthy and unworthy people.

There’s no such thing as valuable and less valuable people.

There’s no such thing as people who can make the impossible possible and people who can’t.

There’s no such thing as special and less special people.

These are nothing but mind-created barriers and limitations - limitations that are meant to keep us stuck in a very dark, lonely and unhappy place.

There’s something unique and precious about each and every one of us.

We are all valuable human beings; we are all intelligent and capable of achieving many beautiful and wonderful things.

We each have a very important role to play in this world, and who we are matters.

Who you are matters.

What you know matters.

Your unique gifts and talents matter.

Your presence and your work matter, and whether you believe it or not, the world needs you.

The world needs you to be you, to do your part and to play your role as beautifully as possible.

That’s the challenge!

And that’s the first step, the baby step, towards living an authentic life!

Yes! An authentic life!

There are quite a few possible ways to celebrate your sense of self-worth!

I would like to enumerate just two for the moment, down below –

First and foremost,

Cultivate your Personal (Sacred) Space!

Yes! It IS a sacred space!

Every individual who wishes to have a high sense of self-esteem must needs do this in their life for sure!

People who tend to follow the crowd, the passive majority, are always known for their fickle-mindedness! (Julius Caesar, Shakespeare)! They ain’t gonna have a sense of self-esteem anytime, anywhere!

But people with a good sense of self-esteem will always cherish their personal space!

A Personal space, is one’s cherished sacred space, where there ain’t gonna be any intruders of any sort!

Celebrate this personal space, - a minimum of say, one hour a day, or two hours a day, every day of the week, every week of the month, and every month of the year, until you gently exit this dwelling!

So what exactly do I do with this thingy called a ‘personal space’, you may ask?

Well, you can literally do anything.

Simply put, be yourself. Indulge yourself in whatever you like doing the most! In your own treasured private space!

A Space where you are not gonna have any dictates from anyone!

The mantra to celebrating your personal space is this:

Dare to come out of anything that clutters your life.

Rightaway!

Anything that exercises an uninterrupted power over your little lovely life, cut it off rightaway!

Don’t be a slave to anyone! To anything! You weren’t born to be a slave to anyone, anything, and anywhere!

Secondly,

Discuss Ideas, NOT people!

As the good old adage goes, “Small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, great minds discuss ideas.”

Well, there’s more to this quote than meets the eye!

SMALL MINDS DISCUSS PEOPLE!

So how do we identify a “small mind”? Quite simple!

A “Small mind” is a person, who, when he/she gets to know something about someone else that no one else knows, they get such great inspiration and a huge boost to their lowly, lackluster, wayward lives!

And when they share it with another person, they experience such a great sense of satisfaction, or a sense of accomplishment, and this alone forms the basis for establishing a shared intimate connection with the other person!

And the obnoxious cycle just goes on and on amongst these small, petty minds!

Their very existence on this planet hinges on these little gossips that rule their lives with an iron hand, all through their small, petty lives!

In fact, discussing people is never a bad proposition after all!

But we should ask ourselves the reason for going ahead and sharing the information about another person!

Is it for slander, for gossip, for maligning their character, or for telling/celebrating the little good things that we have observed in that person?

Yes! it’s the intention that matters!

AVERAGE MINDS DISCUSS EVENTS!

This is not the Derridean ‘event’, but it could be any ordinary event like your friend’s wedding, betrothal, or birthday!

Average minds excel in discussing the little uneventful things that happened in these ‘auspicious’ occasions, and revel with happiness in highlighting the negatives and the weaknesses that happened at the event/s.

When this event is shared or discussed with their ‘friend’, opinions are given, criticisms are made and judgments are pronounced, and even verdicts are passed with such intense joy and mirth!

GREAT MINDS DISCUSS IDEAS!

Great minds always take delight in indulging themselves with meaningful conversations, intellectual chatter, ideas that question the status quo, that critique the present by presenting alternative ‘what if’s, and create pathways or policies that can chart a delightful future ahead, for others to follow!

Great minds are ennobling minds, who ‘apply thought’ to whatever they do, are so intellectually mature, that they do not have the time to talk about gossips, about people, about events etc.

They think it below their dignity to stoop to the levels of gossiping, or wasting their precious time talking stuff about people or events!

That’s because their thoughts are always focused on the betterment of themselves and the society at large!

Thirdly,

Avoid Negative People!

It’s an innate quality within us all to strive to be happy and to make others happy, and thereby attain happiness, peace and joy in our little, beautiful lives on this planet!

However, there are people who are an embodiment of negativity, who are always lurking behind us, trying to kill the chirpy, happy spirit within us!

They can never ever produce any positive vibes or happiness around them, and they will take away all your precious attention, all your valuable time, and all your vibrant energy, even as they pull you deeper and deeper into their bottomless pit of negativity!

And yesss!

Always surround yourself with people who inspire you, encourage you and help you realize your value and your potential.

Oprah Winfrey vouches to the success of this great method! She says,

“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”

And, as the saying goes – “Life is simply too short to be friends with negative people! -  and added,  there are a lot of great people out there”!

Most importantly, ‘It’s time for you to be saying ‘Yes’, only when you feel it in your heart that you should be saying, ‘yes!’ and ‘No’ when ‘no’ is needed. It is time for you to Love, Honour and Respect Yourself once more!’

‘Always remember that life is too short to live a life that is not yours to live. So yes! Let go of your fears, and Be Yourself fully!’

Because, that’s the apt definition of the word ‘Courage’ for you!