When You Know Yourself, You Can Begin Mastering Yourself.

Change and growth don’t happen just because.

It’s a continuous, consistent, and intentional effort.

I didn’t start doing anything intentionally about my personal growth until I was in my mid-twenties.

Now that I’m in my late twenties, I finally feel I’m riding the wave of momentum I created years ago and believe my life is finally heading in the direction I want.

But this progress took a lot of work.

Before I could start moving forward, I had to learn who I was and get to know myself intimately.

Here’s why it’s crucial to know yourself:

When you know yourself, you KNOW what your strengths AND weaknesses are.

For a long while, I didn’t know what my weaknesses were.

I remember people asking me this question in interviews and on other occasions, and I remember always struggling to find an answer.

Now, I know the things that I need to consistently do to make sure I’m at my best.

To get to this point, you must become self-analytical and aware.

One of the easiest ways to begin doing this is journaling.

Make some time each and every day to write down what’s going through your mind.

You can write about the things you’re grateful for, what you’re struggling with, or simply what you have planned for the day.

Whatever it is that you write about, just make sure to spend some time getting to know yourself by yourself. No distractions.

Over time, you’ll start seeing patterns.

And these patterns will reveal to you your default actions and behaviors, good and bad.

Once you’ve identified a few of these patterns, you can start putting things in place to help yourself move forward.

Knowing yourself (and your weaknesses) allows you to build systems that INDEED support you.

I remember I used to follow generic ‘how to’ advice, but it never really worked.

Advice like this doesn’t work when the person receiving it isn’t aware of themselves and how they work best, worst, what they are good at or not, etc.

I find this is why I’m less inclined to read more self-development books these days.

I know how I work, what I like, and what motivates and inspires me, and, therefore, what doesn’t.

I no longer need generic advice on how to start making changes.

If anything, I just need to keep working on the things I know I’m not great at and continue on the way I’ve been working on myself these past few months.

For example, I’m a forgetful person.

I NEED to write things down.

Some of the systems that I have set in place to help me remember and keep track of all the things I want and need to do are using a monthly calendar (physical and electronic) and my Reminders app on my phone.

I fill out my calendar a month in advance and plan all my writing days and any appointments or projects I want to work on.

The Reminders app is an easily accessible way for me to write down blog ideas and last-minute errands I need to do that pop up at a moment’s notice.

Thanks to these two tools, I’ve been able to do everything I said I would do.

Whether it’s going to the doctor, filming my next YouTube video, or making sure I write another blog, my calendar keeps me aware of everything that needs to be done.

I wouldn’t be able to do this if I first didn’t accept that I tend to be a forgetful person.

You need systems that combat your weaknesses.

And lastly,

Knowing yourself OPENS YOUR EYES to the reality of your life.

Are you really moving forward?

Are you really doing the work that you said you’d do?

Are you genuinely changing and evolving?

I used to think that the passage of time was enough of a sign that I was growing and changing.

Reality slapped me in the face when I turned twenty-three, and I saw that after years of ‘hard work,’ I was nowhere near the life I wanted.

Thankfully, God (the universe, the Pope, whatever you believe in) put certain people and events in my life that led me to understand what I was or wasn’t doing that wasn’t helping me accomplish my goals.

God revealed to me that one of those things was not knowing who I was.

Learning to spend time with myself, by myself, opened my eyes to the reality of my actions — I wasn’t actually doing much, if anything, to move my life in the direction I said I would pursue.

I wasn’t being intentional about planning and executing.

Thankfully, I came to this realization earlier in life, and now, I’m extremely grateful for it because it feels like I’ve finally begun to live the life I was meant to.

When you get to know yourself, you can begin mastering yourself — building systems and putting them in place to hold yourself accountable, take action, and start building a life that you’re genuinely content and satisfied with.