Knowing yourself is a key part of what this blog is all about. In this first section we’ll look at a number of ways you might understand and describe yourself. Sometimes as you think about a choice it might be the words of others that you hear. The answers you arrive at will help you be clearer in how you tell your story. It’s not so much about the knowledge but what it means to the way you engage with other people as you go about life.

Perhaps the most important other in the “other people” just referred to is You, the inner voice with whom you have so many conversations. The removal of doubt that comes from having clear language to describe yourself is a source of peace and ease, a source of comfort.

As we work through this blog there will be two pages for each topic - the first (which follows below) is some text providing context and content on the subject and then a second some word associations with the topic and a continuum on which you can assess yourself. When you get to that point my suggestion is that you answer quickly with what feels right rather than agonise over pros and cons before settling on your answer

Now let's begin. Right now, how well do you know yourself? The value of being able to answer “very well” has been known and written about for millenia, certainly back to the ancient Greeks for whom it was seen as a cornerstone of life.

Can you describe the things that are important to you? Do you know which things are more important than others? Can you describe your fundamental why am I here? How do you like to engage with people? What are your preferences in the way you go about your work and the decisions you make? Do you have a view about how the world works or do you feel it’s all just too much?

Marking where you see yourself on this line now is like establishing a baseline in a project. It will be a question we revisit towards the end of the book, hopefully finding that you feel further to the Yes end when we get to that point.

If your answer now is that you know yourself well, I’m sure you will find some new perspectives on that awareness. If feel there’s a lot still to know about yourself, then I hope this experience will be moving for you.

Your Attributes:

• Your beliefs
• Your purpose
• Your values
• Your passions
• Your gifts
• Relating to others
• Motivations
• Drivers

A realistic and deep understanding of what makes you who you are