Life is full of learning opportunities and learning who you are is most important. When it comes to picking a career pathway for yourself, no matter who you are and how talented you think you are, you must first understand what lives in your head and heart. How comfortable are you with truly being honest with yourself and who you are? Too often we are defined by what our parents, teachers, family members and friends say we are and some of what they see in you has value but in those times when you are alone with yourself do you know yourself well enough?
This is very important because when you are faced with a situation, task or responsibility that does not fit within your definition of yourself, your level of self- awareness with keep you centered, grounded, confident and safe. For example, lets’ say you are a person that is outgoing, eager to please others and love to be the life of the group. Lets’ imagine you have this same group going out one evening and they decide to try to steal some snacks from the neighborhood gas station. The group has the logic of “strength in numbers” and they state you all cannot get caught and go to jail so it should be simple. In the mind, you know that this is not the right thing to do but the desire to be part of the crowd and please the group could lead to jail time. I’ve known of things like this happening before with young teenagers who have yet to figure out how to stand in their truth and morals, regardless of what others say or do.
Knowing your own character and being aware of your own limitations and shortcomings is crucial. Going further, you can apply this knowledge in everything you do. If you get nervous speaking in public but you want to be a performing artist, what are somethings you can do to support your nerves? Start in a small venue, record a video and put it online to get reaction or to review your skills, talk with a professional about your fears, and doing work that keeps you behind the scene are a few options. The musical composer and DJ Deadmau5 wears a mouse mask when he is on stage. Its like his signature and for a while, I didn’t know what he looked like. I now know it was done as a signature thing but what if it was because of stage fright? That would be something interesting.
Get to your self-awareness in three steps that include:
Ask yourself honest questions.
Practice self-care.
Be honest with yourself. No masks allowed.
Journal
Listen to your inner voice.
