Life always catches up with you, in fact, sometimes life likes to present itself in the form of a blazing fiery punch to the face. And we’ve all been there trying to dodge those punches, but sooner or later, it will hit us, some of us hard. If you are anything like me, it will come unexpectedly, forcefully, and you will be left trying to figure out how to get your defenses up again. You may even question, when did I drop even drop my defenses?
To put in plain and simple, I lost myself. I put my job in front of everything, I was so focused on moving up, on doing a good job, and proving my worth, that I did the complete opposite. I became my job, I lived, breathed, and ate my job. I sacrificed more than I got back, and by the time I realized that, it was too late.
I was a stranger to myself. I had no idea who I was. I didn’t love my job, in fact I hated it, I wasn’t happy, my emotions were turbulent, and I avoided my fears and flaws like the plague. But one day, I snapped back to reality, and I began to take the reigns of my life and slowly, but surely, began to rediscover who I was now.
With the pressures of life breathing down our necks we tend to forget to take time to focus on ourselves and finding who we are. So what do I mean by finding yourself?
- Discovering your passion and what you love
- What makes you happy?
- Understanding your feelings and emotions
- Coming to terms with your fears and flaws
I don’t have the answer of how to find yourself again, I’m still trying to do it myself, but, what I do have are ways to get started:
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Do the Things You Used to Love
Over the past few weeks, especially after quitting my job, I’ve had some free time to do the things I used to love. And to my surprise, a lot of the things I used to do no longer brought me joy, in fact it felt tedious and served more as a distraction than something I truly enjoyed. While other things I did gave me a breathe of fresh air and made me fall in love with it all over again. At the end of the day, I learned that interests change and that’s okay.
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Try Something New
It makes sense in my opinion to do this, because, how will you find your passion or find out what you love if you don’t go after it? I think trying is the best thing you can do when you are trying to find yourself, because at the very least, you experienced it and it either made you a better person, or added to your story of you!
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Start a Blog or Start a Journal
Writing is powerful. In many ways it allows you to express yourself more clearly, it allows you to open up a bit more and be more honest. Now, I know starting a blog isn’t for everyone, but I always, always encourage people to start a journal. Write down when you are sad, write when you are happy, or write down your favorite quotes, sayings, thoughts, whatever it is, write!
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Let Go
Literally. Right after I left my job the first thing I did was start to declutter. I started to get rid of anything from work papers, to items I hadn’t used in years, to clothes I never wore. At first, I found it very VERY hard to do this, but as time went on I’ve been finding it easier to let go of things. My space has become less chaotic, and it felt good to get rid of things that I didn’t need. Letting go will always be hard, but take it one day at a time. For some people it will be a matter of just cleaning which is good for anyone! But for others, like me, it will be so much more. Decluttering and letting go empowered me to do something I hadn’t done in a long time. Move on.
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Practice Self-Care and Self-Improvement
At the end of the day, the most important thing you can do to find yourself, is to start taking care of yourself. Take time to reflect, meditate, exercise, eat healthier! Relax. Breath. Enjoy life!
The journey to finding yourself is endless, but, I think that’s the best part. You are always discovering new things about yourself and even if you veer off track, or even if you lose yourself, there are always ways to get back to where you were or somewhere better. But its up to you to decide if you want to do it, when you want to do, and how you will do it.
Always keep moving forward and never give up. Life will always be hard and I’m sure there will be more fiery punches that will come my way. And for the first time in my life, I’m going to face it head on. Find yourself, be you, and never apologize for it.
