Who am I?

All the knowledge in the world cannot help you to find happiness, if you don’t know yourself. Knowledge of self is like the foundation on which you can build your life up. It holds everything you know together and puts it into perspective.

The knowledge of self acts as an interface that connects us with our lives. Without it, a life with “everything” can easily mean nothing. We need to connect with the lives we live for them to bring us happiness. We need to have clearly defined wants for us to feel happy when they are met.

I’ve had a lot of people express their confusion and curiosity at my life choices, and I understand why they feel that way. From the perspective of an onlooker, I go against what people expect me to do. My actions and decisions seem unreasonable, and maybe even stupid at times.

It’s smart to be stupid sometimes, and losing can be your victory. I let go of an offer that shocked many people who “knew” me at the time. If the offer had come when I wanted it (4 years earlier), then I would have taken it gladly. I was at a different level in my life, and I had since met an even better opportunity; one that was even more in line with who I am, one I wasn’t willing to leave. When I couldn’t get what I wanted back then, I worked hard to find another opportunity for myself, found it and worked even harder to make it work. I was happy and satisfied.

Unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life results from us letting situations that go against who we are occur and remain in our lives; and if you don’t really know yourself enough, you will be stuck in the situation and not know what to do next. Yes, we don’t always meet favourable situations, but in every encounter, we have the choice to accept or reject; the choice to adapt or fight to subvert and change them.

In all of life’s ups and downs, getting to know yourself and living your life according to that knowledge equalizes life’s vicissitudes. This question should be a persistent query in mind: Who am I?