*** Mastery (Of One's Self)

MasterynnTo Be Master Of One's Self, One Must Know One's Self.n(Sun Tzu)nnnnnnWho Are You? Who are you? Do you know the answer to that question? If you do, wonderful. If you don't, then you need to do some serious thinking RIGHT NOW.nnYou Are Who You Are And That's Who You Are? One Navajo Native American saying says: Walk in harmony in the universe by being aware of who you are. This saying is not only incredibly beautiful, but also extremely important. It implies that you must first figure out who you are and then you must accept who you are, in order to live in peace and harmony with the universe.nnHow Do You Go About Defining Who You Are? In my experience, many people define themselves in terms of who they are not, rather than in terms of who they are. They focus on their weaknesses and the things they don't have or haven't accomplished, rather than on their strengths and the things they do have or have accomplished. You would be much better served if you would define yourself in terms of who you are, instead of who you are not. If you spend all your energy focusing on who you are not, then you will beat yourself down and have little energy or enthusiasm left over to focus on achieving your goals.nnWho You Are Is Your Core Essence When all else is stripped away, what is left over? Take out a 3 blank pieces of paper. I want you to sit down in a nice quiet room and take the next 15 to 30 minutes and answer the following 3 questions? Answering these questions is the best way I know for you to define yourself.nnQuestion #1nnWho am I? This is your core essence. Your core essence is the foundation upon which you are going to build everything else in your life. After you have thought about who you are, you should ask yourself the next question, which is the exact opposite.nnQuestion #2nnWho am I NOT? Think about the characteristics and traits that do NOT describe you.n n Now that you have thought about who you are and who you are not, you will be able to realize and accept who you are at your core. Then and only then can you examine your core essence to see if there is anything you might wish to change, add or remove as you continue toward finding and accomplishing your purpose in life.nnQuestion #3nnWho do I want to be? Unfortunately, there is no easy, immediate way to figure out who you are. You must look inside yourself to find the answer to this question. REMEMBER, the question is who do YOU want to be. It is NOT who does somebody else want you to be or who do they expect you to be. It will take time and introspective thought before you can begin to answer this question. The information you have written on your sheets will provide invaluable insight to you as we work together.nnConclusion Finding out who you are is extremely important. Think about the above questions deeply. Knowing who you are, who you are not and who you want to be, will bring you a sense of inner peace that is essential for the remainder of our journey together.n