Pleased to Meet Me, Myself and I
“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.” - Lewis Carroll
Bingo! Gotcha! You might have seen children’s books where a minute figure, Waldo, is hidden somewhere on a busy page of a multitude of tightly squeezed in buildings. No easy feat to spot Waldo! Pretend you present Waldo’s surroundings and must search for yourself, the REAL you, the unique, one-of-a-kind human being you were born to be…
A mind-blowing miracle happened many years ago when a spontaneous combustion between an egg and a sperm happened in your mother’s womb. The result? You were conceived, a minute, so, so vulnerable little you in the making. As you developed, your interaction with the world commenced…
It has been found that the growing foetus starts detecting its mother’s emotional state at about 20 weeks. You developed a sense of calm and distress, based on maternal emotions. A vulnerable bundle of infinite potential!
Your entrance into the world meant that the hands, the words of others slowly shaped and moulded a sense of “I am” in you. You were perhaps labelled as extremely difficult, defiant, lazy, clever, etc. Some of these labels were constructive and others not. You were perhaps taught how to fit into societal constrictions. You must, mustn’t, should, shouldn’t. Excessive conformity and a loss of your endless potential was most probably the result.
Your primary task in life is to become the REAL you, stripped of the labels and strict rules others have imposed on you.
The footprints of Ana’s father imprinted on her were that her shoulders were too broad, and her legs were shaped rather unfortunately. This was not true at all, but the result was that Ana developed a bad body image which haunted her for most of her life. Sam’s father used to give him severe beatings. He went on to do the same to his children. So, so sad.
Your primary task in life is to become the REAL you, stripped of the labels and strict rules others have imposed on you. Finding YOU is like opening a treasure chest and going on an exciting personal journey of self-awareness and discovery. A good start for your road ahead is to answer a few questions about yourself:
- What advice would you give to the unborn you?
- How have your experiences as a child shape you?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses? What would you like to improve?
- How do others experience you? If you don’t know ask them.
- What value can you want to add to others and the world at large?
- Do you hold on to old regrets, resentments and unforgiveness?
- How do you deal with failures?
- What are core values you live by?
Dr.Sonia