Who are you really? An action-oriented exercise to fine out
How well do you know yourself? We tend to complain that some of the people in our lives, sometimes especially our families, just don’t get us. Do you get yourself? Do you know all about yourself of do you just go through your days, unconscious?
Who are you really? And do you really want to know or are you happy in the not knowing?
If you want to know there are some easy/simple and fun ways to find out. The first is called clustering or mind mapping. You can use this technique for any concept, problem, or question that you are pondering. Ideas are generated that may be surprising. This happens because you are tapping into the creative, imaginative, big picture side of your brain–your right side. Spend about 10-15 minutes or until no more words come to mind. You can always add to it at a later time. You will be more aware of yourself and what concepts you may have missed initially.
Here’s how it works: start with a clean sheet of paper, any size, but at least 8½” X 11”. Put a circle in the center of the page and write your concept in the center of the circle. In this case write the words “I AM” in the center of that circle.
As quickly as you can, without a lot of deep thinking, start describing yourself. Use adjectives, values, life aspects, physical descriptions, feelings, your characteristics, what’s important to you, what would your dog say about you?
Surround that center circle with all the words that describe who you are. Put these words in other circles and draw a line from that to the center I AM circle.
Who are you really? Any surprises? Keep adding to this over the next few days. Aren’t you awesome? Admit it…there’s a lot more to you than you thought. Ask your dog, he’ll tell you. He knows.