How’s your heart?
That may sound like a strange question to ask, but really think about it for a moment.
What’s happening in your life right now, and how do you feel about it?
Do you know, or is that difficult for you to say?
Busy With Life
When I was under the age of ten, I wasn’t very self aware. At all. I didn’t fully understand my emotions and I definitely didn’t understand myself.
My identity wasn’t important to me. After all, I had schoolwork to complete, friends to hang out with, and fun to have.
I was so busy living my life that I never thought to step back and look at what I was doing and why I was doing it.
I was at the center of my world. I had a lot of friends, and I was “popular” so what else could I possibly want?
Life was good, and I usually felt great.
The World Is Bigger
It wasn’t until I was around eleven or twelve that my life slowly started to fall apart, and I finally became aware that the world was bigger than just me.
That’s when I became curious about who I was, and how I fit into this larger world.
Of course, when I first went looking for answers, I went searching in all the wrong places.
But you don’t have to.
Press Pause
It’s time to press pause on your life. Step back and evaluate who you are. Your heart.
On your journey of discovering your identity, one of the best things you can do is learn about yourself. So today, here are 4 ways to do that:
- Pay Attention
This may sound obvious, but paying attention to the way you act in different situations and around certain people can shed some light on you as an individual.
- Figure Out Your Likes & Dislikes
You may know that you like ice cream and dislike bananas, but did you also realize that you like cleaning, but dislike being told to do it? Or that there’s a certain way you like doing your homework? Or that you enjoy arriving at events a few minutes late instead of early?
Keep track of the small likes and dislikes you have when it comes to your behaviors and actions.
Figuring out your preferences and why you have them, can tell you more about yourself than any personality test could.
- Keep A Journal/Diary
Record anything that feels important to you. Whether it’s a conversation you had with someone, your likes and dislikes, or a place you visited.
It doesn’t have to be super detailed, and you may not feel like writing everything down, but it’ll help you remember what made an impact on you.
- Pray
This is the last, but most important one.
When you pray and ask God who you are and what he thinks of you, you’re letting him in so he can help you discern who you are. And let me tell you, God is a lot better at understanding us than we are.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
This may sound cliché, but God knows our hearts, and his opinion of your heart, matters far more than your own opinion. He sees your heart, knows everything about you, and loves you despite everything.
He’ll point out both the good and bad, and guide you down the path you take.
With God’s help, you will find your identity.
A Start
So, there we have it!
Those are 4 ways to get to know yourself. I’ll be going more in depth with a few of those ways in future blogs, but this will definitely get you started!
Before You Go…
What are some of your likes and dislikes? Do you already keep a journal or diary?
Let me know in the comments below!
Also, what is your favorite type of Valentine’s Day candy? I believe mine is still the SweeTarts Hearts.
Fabulous discourse about the heart! Sometimes we think we know ourselves, only to be sadly misinformed. I found out that I love learning, a lot, and that has formed much of my life when I embraced that part of me. I’ve always kept journals, but more seriously and often in the past 2 years. I still like a good old~fashioned box of chocolates, with strange combinations of confectioneries, covered with dark, milk, and white chocolates. It reminds me of life, to quote Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know which one you’re gonna get.” I’m okay with that because I pray, and I guess that helps me sort through, alright.