KNOW YOURSELF

Welcome back, dear faithful reader!
It is my sincere wish that you have gained a thing or two from this blog, otherwise the time and dedication put into producing will have been wasted. Before we proceed into today’s topic let me add a little to the last post, Know Your God so you don’t feel shortchanged. One thing about knowing, loving and following God is, you cannot be coerced into it especially not by a total stranger (even if you parents, guardian, or somehow your boss force you to go to church with them, they cannot force it into your heart and soul). Sometimes people stumble into it, but the sweetest way is to actively and consciously walk into it. It is a personal choice, either as a last resort (when trouble comes calling), or freewill thing (when searching for something new). My job is only to let you know that such a being exists and try to show you why we need Him. If you are still perplexed, let me point in the direction of the Christian God. You will find all you need there and next in another post if time allows us, we come to the topic. Now let’s gently walk into today’s topic.

KNOW YOURSELF

Youth is a time of discovery. A time when you have so many things suddenly thrust into your face. A time when different forces-parents, peers, the choice of school to attend, whom to marry, and so on- pull you in different directions threatening to tear you apart. Little wonder depression has become more reported in youths of all ages. This is just one of the reasons this blog was created. These pulls need to be stabilized.

Have you ever wondered what this world would be like if everybody were alike? I mean, if we looked alike, behaved alike, talked alike, thought alike, or even reasoned alike? This creator is so marvelous and obviously loves variety. He not only created continents, He also made countries. Not only did He make people of different races and different skin colour, but also tribes and clans all with different body structures and different tongues. All different. My point is that we are very different from one another, even from our parents and siblings. In knowing yourself, bear in mind first and foremost that YOU ARE UNIQUE. A lot of people might be able to do the things you do, maybe even better, but nobody can do it like you do it. NOBODY CAN BE YOU.

Know Your Likes and Dislikes

These are probably the first things you needs to know about yourself and also the easiest, but you must be concrete about them except you an “anything works for me” kind of person (this attitude can be dangerous to purposeful living). Having said that, you need to know such things as: the kind of people you enjoy ‘hanging’ with, or not. The place(s) you frequently visit- there must be something there you like that cause such frequency in visits. The kinds of movies, food, clothes, and so on, that appeals to you, or not. Whatever they are, just be certain. A note of warning though, please if they are vices, criminal, sinful, or just plain immoral, you must get help fast. Don’t be afraid or ashamed, talk to someone who can help you (peers and friend are of little use here especially if you are a teen). Talk to an older person, a father or fatherly figure, an authority in the field- like a psychiatrist, or better yet talk to a pastor, priest or a minister of the gospel. Its either you get help now or it will ruin you, your destiny, family, etc. I believe some acts and behaviours we generally consider bad or/and dangerous can be turned around and used for good. For instance, an ex-car thief can work for ‘Repo’. An ex-sex offender or drug addict can give talks to encourage people (especially youths) and warn them of the dangers thereof.

Know Your Fears

Fears are unhealthy and potentially dangerous and yet you will be surprised at the number people that harbour it. Christians believe that fear is from the devil as a door way to rob us of our potentials and our destinies. Think of it for a second, what normally happens to you when you are afraid? You will notice that you become numb, paralyzed, and sometime unable to think or act. Some experts believe that it is fear that actually kills, the fear of death, and its phobias. Even in accidents and live threatening diseases, those that believe to see another day actually live longer than those with the fear of death.

But we need to know our fears. Why? So they don’t takeus unaware, and so we can handle them appropriately either by discarding them or by turning them around for our own good. So if fear comes from the devil and the devil is known to be a liar that means our fears are not true things about us. That also means that a fear for failure in something, says academics or marriage for instance indubitably means success is bound to come out of it. One wise man once said, “if I sense fear over something I become expectant and started to jubilate because something good is coming my way”.

Fear should not be entertained, neither given a foothold else it will run a person’s live and ultimately ruin it. On the other hand, if fear is an opposite outcome of something, it can help in warning us and cause us to work harder on a thing instead "chickening out". I have discovered that humans have the tendency to be lazy, to want a short cut out of something and to quit easily when the going gets tough, but that is not the way of champions and achievers. Quitters never win anything. So know your fears (better yet, try as much as you can not to have any), know also the source and its purpose.

Know Your Strengths/Talents

One definition the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary offers about strength is, “a quality or ability that a person or thing has that gives them an advantage”. Let’s try and define talent as “a natural ability to do something well” Books have been written on this topic alone so we can only do an introduction or summary here.

I do not wish to separate these two topics, although people who are more versed than I can/may. The reason for this decision not to separate the two is because they go hand in hand and are both gifts from the manufacturer, the creator who embedded them in us at birth for our good and the greater good of mankind. One thing about strength and talent is that we must be able to exhibit them repeatedly. One can have talents in singing, dancing, writing, sports, administration, sales, etc. the point is to know and harness them. You talent(s) and strengths and their usage are what make life sweeter and more wonderful to live

Pointers to Your Talents
Most of the time we stumble across our talent(s) and sometimes we don’t see that the reason why we have been doing some things effortlessly for years is because our talents are in use. Some people are lucky and have other people in their lives like coaches, teachers or parent who can help point out areas in which they excel and help and help them develop it. But some of are not that lucky and may need to go searching for those hidden talents in our lives. Sometimes also we can discover them in emergencies. Some people may have an idea about this but just don’t give a damn. Here are just a few pointers to guide us:

1. When you can do some “impossible” things much better than most people.
2. When you can do this thing nearly perfectly, consistently and repeatedly.
3. When you have a deep yearning for a thing.
4. When it’s something you learn to do really fast.
5. When it’s something you derive ‘healthy’ satisfaction from doing.
6. Watch out also for your spontaneous reaction to things.

Please be warned that when you discover your talents, start using and excelling in them, they also have the ability to attract weeds in form of haters and discouragers. People who couldn’t do it are just jealous of you. And if you are currently one of these kinds of weeds, just know that you don’t have to have the same talents as the next guy. Work to discover yours and in no time the world will come knocking at your door (and if they don’t, don’t fret, just stay there and shine). Some talent are glamorous, while others are not, but it doesn’t one better than the other