A man expressing his emotions: his natural wisdom for embracing self-discovery
Photo by RDNE Stock project
Sometimes, it takes you to feel and acknowledge that gut feeling to truly understand yourself. That is your natural wisdom for embracing self-discovery.
Time makes us stronger; it makes us become better people. By adapting to changes, we thrive. We act and understand ourselves through instinct—the human nature wisdom for self-discovery. It is through intuition that we, humans and other species, flourish in life. Our feelings are the innate wisdom that guides us in many ways than one.
We live beyond the purpose of survival. Our actions are driven by the desire to feel good. But beyond pleasure, it is feeling the pain, anger, joy, and everything our consciousness offers that makes us feel alive. These feelings flow freely in our senses one after another.
It’s that tangy sensation in your tongue after savoring the luscious sweetness of pineapple. The certain relief you get when you cry all the sorrow away. And the fear that makes you more cautious and wiser. It’s important to remember that feelings are temporary.
How Are These Feelings Our Natural Wisdom for Embracing Self-Discovery?
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
When you’re in a period of self-discovery and growth, you go through a transformative journey that allows you to understand yourself deeply. Self-discovery is a stage where you understand your emotions, experiences, and identity. But beyond that, you realize what truly drives and fulfills you. Embracing this transformation requires you to tap into your emotions.
Imagine being in an abusive relationship. Your partner beats and cheats on you. They gaslight you as a way to “make it up to you.” You know how you feel in that situation: fear, anger, pain, and dismay. Your instinct tells you to leave your partner and break free. That drive to divorce your partner is key to finding out what’s more to life than being a housewife or husband. The consequent separation can open doors of possibilities for a better version of yourself.
However, ask yourself, will it lead to a positive transformation? What will you become after the separation? Although it’s important to tap into your emotions to inspire your action, don’t let it drive impulsive thoughts and cloud your judgment.
The Dance of Emotion and Reason
Don’t jump to conclusions and make swift decisions you might regret. Try to examine your feelings with logic. Be deliberate about identifying your emotions and the actions you’ll take. Temper your emotions with reason. While it’s true that your instincts can save you from devastation, don’t forget that feelings are temporary. And the consequences of your actions are long-term.
Emotion and reason are the two key components of our natural wisdom for embracing self-discovery. We cannot compromise one for the other. You must balance the two. How?
Listen to Your Feelings: The Language of the Soul
Photo by Umut Sarıalan
Your emotions guide your inner truth. Don’t let the laws of man dictate what makes you happy and where you feel you belong. In order to increase self-awareness, you need to learn to acknowledge how you feel, what you think, and how you behave. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, triggers, and patterns. Take note of them.
After journaling your feelings, reflect, meditate, and talk to someone. Process your emotions effectively by reaching out to people you trust, doing the things you’re interested in, and saying it. Express your emotions through painting or writing; be creative! Find therapeutic outlets for your emotions. Most importantly, seek professional help.
Believe in Yourself
The first steps of your journey to self-discovery can be filled with overwhelming obstacles. There will come a time of self-denial, where you question your abilities, knowledge, and skills. You will tunnel through a stream of challenges that will reshape how you perceive life and the world. But amidst the challenges and constant changes, you must remain committed to focusing on yourself. Strive to be the best version of yourself each day.
Dare to step out of your comfort zone. Brave new sports or careers. Don’t hesitate to take risks. That’s where growth begins. Soon, discovering another part of yourself you didn’t know will overjoy you.
Yes, you’re scared, but do it scared anyway.
How Does Self-Discovery Manifest?
Our natural wisdom for embracing self-discovery can be mysterious. Sometimes, we go through changes and learn more about ourselves without intentionally knowing. There are moments when our routine takes a shift mostly by external factors: people or events. This paradigm shift helps us unravel the puzzle of our personalities. Unknowingly, you just go through a journey to you.
These examples of self-discovery will make you realize that your journey begins:
Discovering a Hidden Talent:
Imagine you’re a sales representative tasked to create a graphic design for an ad campaign. It’s beyond your usual routine: call prospects, pitch a product or service, close the deal, and get the money. Amid that monotonous life, an opportunity knocks on your door. You grab it and discover a creative visual artist within you.
Embracing a different lifestyle:
This is when you gradually adopt new routines related to or completely different from what you’re used to. Things like learning to love baking when you’re used to video blogging.
Overcoming a fear:
Overcoming fears is one of the most beautiful parts of the journey. Once a timid, now a confident public speaker. Once a victim of abuse, now an advocate for human rights.
In congruent with emotions and instinct, our circumstances play a part in our human behavior and personality. The human’s natural wisdom for embracing self-discovery is multifaceted. It springs from many factors. Sometimes, the norms of society hinder our path to unlocking our inner truth. This has been further discussed by Chet Shupe in his book, “Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness.” This book gives you a look back at our primal drive—instinct—as the human’s natural wisdom.
Grab a copy to get more insights into understanding our emotions as our natural wisdom for embracing self-discovery. May this book help you further understand how the laws of civilization hampered our pursuit of happiness.