Panache

Working on yourself is one of the most rewarding journeys you can take. It starts with understanding who you are—mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually—and recognizing where you want to be.

With patience, self-awareness, and determination, you can bridge the gap and become the best version of yourself, step by step.

Step 1: Know who you are at the moment.

To grow and to become your dream self you need to know who you are at the moment, the tips below can help you in knowing yourself better.

Mentally

It is extremely essential to understand yourself mentally. Questions like where does your thought process stem from? What are the things that motivate you or de-motivate you?

Why does your mind react in a certain way? These are some of the questions that you need to answer while you are trying to understand yourself effectively.

Knowing yourself mentally is necessary for self-actualization. It is the first step towards the process of knowing your full potential and your place in the world.

It can answer a lot of significant things for you like whether you are a rational being or more emotionally driven. Whether your brain works more creatively or more objectively.

Physically

We youngsters often ignore our body needs until our bodies start signaling that they need attention. But you need to understand your body’s current needs, its functions, and how it reacts under different circumstances.

Understanding yourself physically can range from knowing what vitamins and minerals your body needs. To know how much and what kind of food you can intake at what time of the day.

For example, during your early 20s, it could be easier for you to stay awake late at night and consume a lot of alcohol but as you gradually move towards your early 30s, that may not remain the same for you.

Similarly, the consumption of caffeine or nicotine can have different effects on your body through various stages of your life.

Emotionally

Though it may seem that your mental and emotional beings are interlinked, that is not the case. It is extremely significant to know yourself emotionally.

Why do you act the way you do? Are there any trauma-related issues that you need to address? Do you handle your emotions in a healthy way? Or do you need to work on it accordingly?

You are supposed to feel a healthy number of emotions during your life. And if you have any emotional entanglements that need addressing, you are supposed to address that immediately.

Spiritually

This is the most ignored facet of your being that you are supposed to know. We often mistake ourselves as physical beings, emotional beings, or mental beings whereas we need to identify ourselves as spiritual beings.

Knowing yourself spiritually means knowing your core beliefs, your values, your experiences, and how you choose to process them. Things that are in your hands while things that cannot be controlled by you.

What experiences have shaped you? And will you let them affect you in your life? The answers to these questions may seem simple. However, answering these questions can help you navigate the worst existential crisis of your life.

Different ways to know yourself.

Knowing or understanding yourself or your different facets can be an overwhelming process. Hence, it is necessary to know different ways to know yourself.

Please note that you need a lot of determination to do the same. Remembering something can be painful. Therefore, listed below are some of the things that can help you through the journey.

Also read: 8 things to know about yourself.

Seek Help: You can sit with an open-minded friend or seek help from a therapist when you find the process overwhelming or you might be dealing with a traumatic experience.

Remember, only after detangling and understanding what happened in the past, you can take a progressive step into the future.

Contemplation: We come from a generation, where we overwhelm our senses with too much distraction and we don’t give enough time and energy to sit and think about ourselves.

If you have been doing the same, try to sit and contemplate things and all the experiences you had throughout life. Monks find reflections and contemplation, one of the best means to know themselves.

Journaling: Recording and journaling your experiences, thoughts, and emotions regularly is one of the best ways to not only collect a legacy of your life but to ruminate over things that you might have considered precious but your brain might look over because it has a lot to process.

Therapists and psychologists often suggest their clients or patients keep a journal so they can process their emotions in a better way.

Also read: How to approach journaling as a newbie?

Also read: 8 effective ways to open up in your journal.

Meditation: Meditation is considered one of the best ways to work on your current anxiety or to ground yourself. But when your brain is less anxious and in a healthy state, it can always bring in memories.

These re-surfaced memories can be sweet or painful. But when you reflect and process them with a different mindset, it becomes easier for you to process them or even grow out of them in a healthy way.

Step 2: Decide where you want to be.

Once you recognize your current self, you need to clearly define where you want to be. If you are ambitious you can create huge goals for yourself. But always keep a plan in your mind.

An objective plan with defined steps to achieve goals can be called work half done. But remember, an idea and planning are necessary but an effective execution is even more necessary.

When you are deciding where you want to be, you should leave room for any kind of obstacles, setbacks, or failures and enough motivation to start over.

Be careful to create the right goals. Unexpected goals and unrealistic expectations can demotivate you. Decide for smaller goals. Or break your big goals into smaller milestones.

Step 3: Know what you need to do to bridge the gap.

Once you know your current self and where you want to be, you just need to know what steps you need to take to bridge the gap between your two selves.

Understand that your past version was not wrong but you need to be someone new for the next phase in your life. And you are ready for that.

Take smaller steps and know that gradual change is more substantial than sudden changes. Also, do not forget to be kind to yourself through the process and give yourself enough space to change.

Step 4: Get rid of the things that don’t align with your future self.

Letting go of the things and being that once defined you is hard. But if they hold you back from becoming the best version of yourself and knowing your potential, they are not worth it.

This is the step where you need to be rational. You must have an eagle-eyed view towards your goal. If you can keep in mind where you want to be and how it would dramatically change your life, you can be there. All you need to do is to believe in yourself.

Step 5: Keep Going. Keep Growing.

Keep in mind that working on yourself is a forever process. Because different life circumstances and goals may require a different version of you.

Do not be afraid of re-planning things, making changes in your goals, or getting your priorities changed for the time being. You may think that not much has changed but your surroundings would notice you.

And that is why it is essential to mark your milestones achieved. That would give you a boost for the next big thing in your life. It would also enhance your confidence that you can achieve things on your own.

Things to remember while you work on yourself.

1. Working on yourself does not replace the requirement of any medical assistance.

There is no shame in realizing that you can’t do it yourself. Have a goal buddy or join a place where people are working towards the same goal.

Similarly, if you feel the need for any medical supervision like the help of a psychologist, a therapist, or a doctor for physical ailments, do not shy away from treatment.

2. You cannot control things that are not in your hands.

In order to achieve your goal, you may realize that certain things may not be in your hands. It is better to let go of these things instead of mulling over them or letting them stop you.

Remember, a little improvement every day can make a combined change. Only do your best and don’t fret over the losses.

3. Set the right expectations: It is not a linear trajectory.

Working on yourself is not a linear graph, instead it is full of ups and downs. So, don’t discourage yourself if you ever feel down and not being able to work towards your goal.

Remember, it is always okay to restart. This time you will have experience.

4. Choose the right guide.

When working towards your goal, choosing or having the right mentor or guide is equally essential as effective planning.

You may require different guides through various stages but they can motivate you in achieving your goals. They can be your friends or parents who can push you when you feel down.

5. Creating tiny rewards alongside your path will help.

Have you ever decided to treat yourself because you achieved something? Yes, that is called self-love and you may need it through this quest that you have embarked on.

Do not forget to reward yourself when you make a change. Be proud because you did it.

Also read: 10 Underrated Ways of Self-Care.

Conclusion:

Working on yourself may come across as a vague concept but it needs much more focus and determination through various stages to be achieved.

Know yourself and where you want to be, plan it out, and work on it effectively, and within no time you will be your dream self.