Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Not too long ago, I wrote about perception—how some people have a misconception of who they are, believing that they come across as one person, when in reality they are anything but. It goes without saying the problems this can create. In addition, trying to impress the reality of how a person comes across to one who has such a misconception can prove, at best, a tricky task. At worst, it may be impossible.

What about those who are at a loss for understanding who they are? When that person, though wanting to, can’t seem to figure out their purpose, how they should act or who they are at their core? How can you help a person struggling with this? Can you help them? Or is this something they must come to terms with entirely on their own?

If you do attempt to help one who is uncertain about who they are, do you run the risk of having them feel you’re coercing them into being your “creation”—that which you would like them to be? Or will they be open to wisdoms you share as they become receptive to more pertinent information?

And then there’s the individual who, secure in who they are, do a 180-degree turn, abandoning who they are, nothing else in mind, stumbling and bumbling over who they should be. This can come as a direct or indirect result of something said to them by another that so rocks their foundation as to make them unsure. And if this happens, does it mean the person was insecure with their self-identity to begin with?

I don’t believe there are any clear answers to these queries. Perusing each leads to a host of new questions, many of which may never be answered. But all is not lost, for there is one technique that proves useful. People need to be granted the freedom to gain better self-knowledge through the actual acts of living their lives, having a multitude of interactions with others and gaining better insight as they continue to evolve. It is only though these motions that one can hope to have an accurate self-perception, cognizant of who they are and secure in that self-identity.