Know Thyself / Self-Discovery es This chapter offers you opportunities to understand the following topics: Importance of knowing yourself Process of knowing yourself SWOT analysis Benefits of SWOT analysis Using SWOT analysis SWOT analysis grid oo0000 00 Questions to complete the grid O Exercise : Know yourselfnt I accept Know Thyself / Self - Discovery 15 Introduction now Thyself is a term coined by the great Greek philosopher Socrates eaning “Know Yourself” Knowing yourself is life long process. You need to remove all of the multiple personalities that you put on for different people and at different times. You need to get down to the core of your essence and then you need to get rid of your own false self-images and delusions. You must live your lives in search of identifying your true self. You may not be able to know the full-well of yourself Still itis possible to know it toa greater extent by knowing yourself, your strengths, weaknesses, fears and so on. To know oneself is to know one’s true identity. Your personalities are made up of many facets that you pick up and reflect from your ‘ometimes they are strong and cover experiences. the real you How you manage your life, guide others, take charge, perform and behave in relationships really depends on how effectively you use your strengths and identify your weaknesses which you will discover when you truly know your “self.” Corporate life has become complex. You need to work with people of different region, religion, language and culture. Therefore to understand others first you need to understand, yourself. It is impossible to understand others mself/herself. You therefore need to discover and become unless a person has understood your own true person, not what others perceive you to be; and also not who you believe you must be, bur the person that you truly are. To summarize, knowing yourself isto know your true identity. The true self is the one created or. So to know oneself in the image of the a is being true to oneself and living one’s purpose. Men and women are not prisoner. of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds Franklin D. Roosevelt Importance of knowing yourself If you know yourself you will be able to know your strengeh and weakness. Subsequently you will be able to remove your weak portion. order to be useful to You must know yoursel yourself and others. 1. Helps to contro! emotions Knowing yourself guards yourself against your responses triggered by your emotions. Everything you do is based on your emotions only and often emotions lead to miscalculations. Knowing yourself helps you to take control of your emotions and helps in decisions and choices when you are in an emotional state. 2. Helps to reach your goal Knowing yourself is a very important task that you have to undertake, and the most challenging as well. When you know who you are, and clearly understand what you want, you havea better chance of discovering how co reach your goal, personal fulfillment and happiness. 3. Helps to reach better decisions Knowing yourself will help you to make better decisions and be a important because it better person, ‘The more aware you are of your faults the less detached you will feel. You will also at case with yourself, You will also be gs that you want (0 feel mor able to improve those thiny ind let go of the things that you can 4. Helps to improve relationship Knowing your true and inner self will be of great help in warking to reach your goals . ieee16 Soft Skills more effectively. It will guide you along the path to success and take you to such calmness that it will improve your attitude as well as your relationships with others in your life. 5. Helps to realize and improve your full potential Knowing yourself will enable you to develop your full potential and be happy, contented and fulfilled. Knowing yourself ensures success in business, friendship, love, sports, or altogether. 6. Helps to experience happiness and joy Knowing yourself enables you to discover and attain your goals and then when you reach your goals you turn out to be a happy person. This nor only fills you with much happiness but also improves your mindset. And that is the happiness in the truest sense. We know what we are, but know not what we may become. — William Shakespeare Process of knowing yourself 1. Maintain personal diary Maintaining a diary helps you in learning what you are, your likes and dislikes, your passions, and what you want to be in life. Find five to ten minutes every day and choose a comfortable place to write. Write about how yousfecl, what bothers you, what excites you, and lish a connection between you and yourself. ice meditation tion helps you to observe yourself ent moment. Often meditation is misunderstood to be a tough practice and the sadhus and sanyasis can perform ic. Ieis so. Meditation is not a state of emptying mind but emprying yourself of anxiety, excitement and so on. Find 10 minutes day and sit comfortably. Focus on your and allow the thoughts that enter your mi Acknowledge them but don't allow them 1 disturb you. 4 3. Exercise regularly Ik is proved time and again that & helps a person physically and mentally. Exe isa kind of meditation. It helps you in dif ways. If you are a person facing hard times then exercise is the best way to slow you down. — 4.Go for walk regularly Ifexercising is not possible, opt for v because walking is a moving mediation allows you to slow down, and notice an opportunity to mull over something be on your mind, or simply to notice the and bounty of what surrounds you. 5.Do some riding or driving This may look a bit odd here. But dri proves to be a good process particularly ¥ you find it hard to locate a quiet place. Do forget to take your electronic gadgets to listen your favourite music. ’ 6.Do some outings Practice a habit of going out for sight seeing particularly when down with something in life. ‘A day spent in the park, a theatre, coffee house and so on help a lot. These are the outings that allow you to be with yourself. The purpose of these activities is sheer enjoyment. 7. Develop some hobbies t ¥ Identify the hobbies of your early days. Try to do things that you used to do those days. It will give you a chance to identify your passion within you, After all what was done in the early days has. lot of impact in a person's life. Hobbies help you to find some time to relax.8. Develop new interests As the days pass by in the school, colleges, or offices develop new interest. Allow yourself to think something new and different. Such thinking may take you sky high in the ladder of: your personal and professional life. Investigate and research things you find interesting. Try ig ideas that come across your mind and continuously explore. connec He who respects himself is safe from others; He wears a coat that none can pierce. — Henry Wordsworth Longfellow SWOT analysis SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT analysis is a framework for analyzing your strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats you face. This helps you to focus on your strengths, minimize weaknesses, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available. i al A A SWOT analysis is particularly powerful that it can help you uncover opportunities that you can take advantage of. And by understanding your weaknesses, you can manage and eliminate threats that would otherwise put you in difficulties. No one can give you better advice than your- self. ~ Cicero Know Thyself / Self - Discovery 17 _f Benefits of SWOT analysis One of the major benefits of a SWOT analysis is that it is scaleable. It can be as small as a couple of people talking about a situation to a multi-month project in a large multinational company. The other benefits are: * Simple. It's simple to the participants. They can grasp the concepts and process easily. And, they almost always enjoy the process. It can be practiced at individual and corporate level. © Less expensive. A SWOT analysis can be done internally provided the internal facilitator has the experience to manage it. ‘The basic SWOT technique can be fashioned to meet individual as well as corporate needs. © Inclusive. It allows the participation of the team. In addition, since it utilizes the whole team, the results are more likely to represent the real environments. Using SWOT analysis When using SWOT analysis, be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of you. Distinguish between where you are today, and where you could be in the future. Also remember to be specific by avoiding grey areas and always analyze in relation to the actual situation. Finally, keep your SWOT analysis shore and simple, and avoid complexity and over-analysis. Use it as a guide and not a prescription. Swot analysis grid A SWOT analysis is typically created in a grid format, with the Strengths and Opportunities listed on the left, and the ‘Weaknesses and Threats on the right.L.18 Soft skils Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering your-} self is power. ~Tao Te Ching Questions to complete the grid Strengths: What do you do well? ‘What unique resources can you draw on? What do others see as your strengths? Weaknesses: What could you improve? Where do you have fewer resources than others? What are others likely to see as weaknesses? Opportunities: What good opportunities are open to you? What trends could you take advantage off How can you turn your strengths into opportunities? Threats: ‘What trends could harm you? Whar is your competition doing? Know Yourself Which one of the following scenario will you feel most miserable? Choose any one from below, (a) ‘Two people trapped in a life (b)_ Nobody in a deserted village except yourself, (c)_ Pollution of any kind (to the sea or land etc.) / natural (d) Buildings - collapse / fire disasters ferior about yourself. But you can lil (d) Buildings - actually differentiate between the “bl the “white” very well. However, w1 personal feelings, you are in a total Love life: You can manage a relationship but when too many comy targets appear, you will tend to everything instead! Do not pi to fir around, ‘Try not to be a bo (b) Nobody in a deserted village except yo You are basically a person who enje looking back to the past “Reminis emotional person indeed. Easily in by the people or surroundings Eg. If the society is sad about th leader, you will also share the same or when watching a sad movi you will be so engrossed in the ended up being sadder than the the movie! Love life: Very Messy! Are you a ve confused person? Sometimes you like « sometimes you need her/him, and somet you don't! Does it sound familiar? You b another party to be in pain for you. (©) Pollution of any kind (to the sea or land You are suitable to go into politics because yo are able co differentiace between wrong fror right pretty well and plus you are very decisi Love life: However when it comes to lo you are very indecisive and so you are not | suitable to fall in love. Similar to (b) you sometimes need him/her, sometimes you dont... You go think it over and better not hurt another innocent party! collapse/fire disasters/natural disasters. You are a person who is full of ambitions and creativity. You are very concerned about changes in the issue around you. You are also. a very temperamental person. Mood: swing tends to be your cup of tea, Love life: You are very easily ateracted 10 the opposite sex. And the good Rie ate abo a "hot caper” arogg ghee ee sex! You can easily attract the opposite sex. Basically a very “Popular” lover. Sometimes youl just wonder why s9 many y people le rsont to chat with you, A very people