How well do you know yourself?
Someone who is 5’5” and can't even make 50% free-throws, but thinks he is ready to play in the NBA is an example of a person with absolutely zero self-awareness in the athletic world. Knowing things academically or informationally is important, but knowing about yourself is even more important. Imagine that you are going to a place. You have a map and the map correctly shows all the places you want to go. It would be easy to get there since you have a map, right? It would be right ONLY IF you know where you are. Without knowing where you are, the map is almost useless.
Social media is filled with inspirational messages that say, don’t compare yourself with others, everyone is on a different journey, do not think about what other people say, etc. Those are not wrong statements and there are certain situations in life where those statements will make sense and be helpful, but at the same time, they are not absolute truth. Listening to other people (assuming that they are being honest) will give you clues on where you are on the map. Comparing with other people, usually in the same age group or similar situations, will provide you with clues too. Even when we aretalking about our strengths and weaknesses, it will have to be relative to other people. Let’s say I feel confident about running and I say that I have a gift for running. But no matter how fast I feel when I'm running, if my fastest 100-meter dash is 25 seconds, that means I should be considered "slow" by almost any reasonable standard. When I see other people run 100 meters in 12 or 13 seconds, I can easily figure out that humans are capable of running much faster than I do and that I’m not that fast.
The world is a harsh place, especially in the professional world. People get compared almost 100% of the time and the results will tell you that. Some people will get hired while others will not, and some people will get raises and bonuses while others will not. Some people will be recognized while others will not. And unlike the Instagram inspirational quotes, what you think of yourself does not have much weight, but what others think does. And knowing where you stand is a very helpful tool because then you can work on your weaknesses to get better.
I don’t want you to misunderstand. I’m not trying to say that what you think of yourself is meaningless, or that the opinions of others are of the ultimate importance. Nor am I trying to tell you to constantly compare yourself to others. Comparing with others to feel superior or inferior is definitely worse than not comparing at all. What you think of yourself and what others think are both important and knowing and accepting both will result in good self-awareness. I don’t want you to be sad for not being as good as other people or arrogant for having things that many others don’t. Happiness doesn't come from being better than everyone else and having everything, but from being content and grateful for what you have. Believing wrong things about yourself and being happy because of it is only a lie and that type of happiness will not last once the truth is revealed.
As you live your life, you will meet all kinds of people. Some people are incredibly smart, some people are very beautiful, and so on. Knowing that you are not as smart or pretty or athletic, but instead of being jealous or even feeling miserable, and still being able to be thankful for the person you are, just because that's who God created you to be, that's what I am praying for. The world will tell you to find your identity in what you have or what you are capable of, but our identity can never come from within. It comes from what God says about who you are because only He knows how you were created and why you were created. Our worth doesn't change a bit from what others think about us, or even what we think about ourselves. Remember that Jesus came down to the earth and died for us on the cross. That's how much each of us is worth.
Keep searching and learn who you are, and as you learn about yourself, enjoy the process and celebrate. Always be grateful for what you have as well as what you don’t have.
Photo by Tabea Schimpf on Unsplash