How to Create Your Own Life by Being Aware of Who You Are

By David Burlon

Published in Success

June 05, 2020

4 min read

How to Create Your Own Life by Being Aware of Who You Are

“The unexamined life is not worth living”
Socrates

We all want to be better. You want to create your own life. But we all have a different form of better. The life you want to live is different from the life that others want to live. Personal growth means different things to each of us. The common element of personal growth is that you must work on yourself.

The choices you make throughout your lifetime will determine the type of life you lead. Your choices are reflective of the person you are, and who you will become. It is possible to direct those choices to create a better life. Incredible rewards come to those who make the right choices and work on making changes.

To change as a person, you need to identify what changes you want. Before you can aim at the finish, you need to know your starting point. Your journey begins with self-examination.

It continues by accessing the personal power that exists within us all. This power gives you the discipline to enforce the changes you need to make to create your life the way you want it. This will define your relationships, sense of fulfillment, and general happiness.

“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
Carl Jung

Personal Awareness

The first step in your journey of personal growth is personal awareness. The more you know about yourself the better. Unfortunately, we don’t always look at ourselves in depth. We have a tendency to overlook our deficiencies. An honest appraisal provides the groundwork of change.

This stimulates ideas about what changes you see as part of your personal growth. What to build on and what to overcome.

A good place to start is with the things that you are good at. The things that make you shine as a person. List down the things you like about yourself. Include your best skills or talents. Think also about your passions.

Then write down your weaknesses and the strengths you have as a person.

This gives a good picture of the person you are. To create your own life you need to know who you are now.

Thinking About the Life You Want

A good place to start thinking about the sorts of changes you want to make is to consider the regrets you have. Study them to see if you could have prevented them or acted in a different way. If there were other options you did not take, why did you act the way you did? Was it part of your inner programming? Is this changeable?

The next step is the see yourself as others do. How do other people describe you? Is that consistent with the way you see yourself? Is it consistent with the life you want?

Guiding Thoughts

Our perceptions and thoughts guide our actions. We all have insecurities and fears of differing levels. Being aware of them leads us to better choices. Think about your insecurities.

There are things in life that we have power over, and things that we do not. Think about the things you can and can’t control. Excessive worry over the things we cannot control is not productive. It wastes a lot of energy. Focus on the things you have control over.

Your values and motivations guide your reactions to events. Once again, an awareness of these gives you a better ability to create your own life, the way you want it. When thinking about this, dwell on the things that bring you joy, and the things that make you sad.

Your dreams and your goals in life point the way to the life you want. Think about what it is that stopping you from achieving these.

Self Esteem

If you don’t think you are good enough, chances are that you won’t be. You have to overcome this. Achievement comes in small steps. You are always good enough to make the next step. Positive self esteem is essential to personal growth.

You must care for yourself, spiritually, mentally, and physically. Think about how well you do this, and how you can be better at it.

Envy of others is common. But it implies a low sense of self worth. It is one thing to hold up another person as a role model to emulate. It is another thing to be jealous or feel that you are not as good.

Think about the things that frighten you. What do you get anxious about? What do you get frustrated by? Are there clues in this about the changes you would like to make to create a better life.

Relationships

You don’t live in a vacuum. The people in your life are critical to your quality of life. People with strong personal relationships live longer, happier lives.

Consider the strengths of your relationships. Who are the supportive, positive people in your life? And how do they make your life better? Consider also the negative influences in your life. Is there anything you can do about these people?

List the Changes You Want

Now that you have conducted a thorough inventory of your life, make a list of the changes you would like to make.

To stop this being overwhelming, make a list of the barriers you are likely to face in making these changes. Try to set some priorities. Remember that life is a journey. You need to have a destination in mind, but it is the journey itself that is most important.

Create small steps that are achievable, and build on these. To get from 1 to 100, the first step is to get to 2. Then you aim at 3 or 5.

As you go through these steps, celebrate your success along the way. This will reinforce your motivation for change. Following these suggestions will help you to create your own life. They will help you live life on your own terms. Live the life you want.