8 questions to know yourself better
And, answering these questions for myself first :)
If you had to introduce yourself without talking about your job, designation, title, or educational background.
How would you go about it?!
My usual/obvious kind of introduction would read something like:
“Hey there, I am Tanvi — born and brought up in India. Currently, working as a Business Transformation Consultant in an MNC”
How should one define the question, ‘Who are you?’
In this story, I am going to take you through 8 questions that I answered about myself to know myself better.
Most certainly, that would give you the gist and hopefully motivate you to perform the drill to know yourself.
Because why not?
Personally, when I am asked ‘Who am I’ — I feel like answering it without giving my name, job, place, or designation.
I know for a fact that I am not really; my memory, thoughts, feelings, possessions, associations, or contributions.
None of it for sure because everything I mentioned above reflects impermanence!
1. Then who am I?
Who you really are, keeping all your possessions aside? What is the core of you?
Thankfully, just recently — I got closer to the answer 😃.
At any given moment, more than anything else — I am my INTENT.
For now, I am leaving you with food for thought, and one day, in all certainty, I am going to explain ‘Intent’ and why I say so.
Now, a little something ‘about me’!
I am someone, who has enjoyed having to-do makers, diaries, and colorful pens ever since I got into consciousness.
It might sound a bit boring but today when I think about my childhood memories. One of the few things that cross my mind is school vacation time; ‘May-June’.
The time when I enjoyed doing holiday homework (inclusive of artwork) not only for my homework but also for my siblings and friends.
I am someone who likes to do things with full heart, and that helps me add a little flavor of passion to whatever I take up.
Why am I sharing this?
Because you can do some reflection and answer this question for yourself.
2. What was my childhood like?
I have firm belief that the initial phase of life, plays a major role in shaping an individual.
Hence, it is a worthwhile ask to revisit our childhood memories.
If I were to answer in brief, I like to call my childhood, ‘mixed childhood’ — it wasn’t a happy one but at the same time I made some good memories :
- playing evening games with my colony friends, watching cartoons with my younger brother
- enjoying home-cooked breakfast from my mother on Sunday mornings, getting excited about birthday celebrations and invitations
- making plans for big festivals (Holi, Dussehra, Diwali, etc.) — all that falls under fun childhood.
I am parking the story behind ‘not-so-good’ childhood memories, for some time later 😅
3. Things that I really enjoy doing?
I think we are all born with inherent gifts. The only task for us is to recognize and share that gift in this lifetime.
You would not realize upfront but you do bring value to the lives of people around you, somewhere & somehow.
And, hence this question.
In my case, there are a few things that help me have fun and release stress, let me explain what & how:
Writing — it began with my love to plan things, and make to-dos.
It now helps me express my suppressed emotions, and gain clarity which in turn has taught me to manage my emotions.
Music — this one is just my first go-to in the list because it has helped me in daydreaming, ever since 😉
Music has taught me to dream, visualize a beautiful life, and sometimes escape the chaos, and of course, it is a definite stress buster.
Food — I have been fortunate to taste very delicious food since childhood, it has developed my taste and that is how I developed my love for food.
I don’t have anything in general, but I like exploring and tasting new stuff.
Also, I get excited thinking about food, haha! It is kind of my love language, too.
Travelling — simply put, it is food for the soul.
Traveling has been a very big part of my deep healing journey.
For me, it is like an empty vessel to create new memories and swap the old ones 😄
Learning — I like learning new things, maybe because it helps to keep my curious mind on my toes.
It channels the energy full of passion in the right direction.
I see ‘learning new things as something like:
Acing in an office presentation one day and the next day sucking at learning a new language. You see? — it keeps you humble in a way.
I want to be a learner for life!
4. My favorite things/people in life?
Your daily choices, be it habits or the people you choose to spend your time with speak volumes about you as an individual.
Simply put, it highlights your priorities in life.
And that is why, you should answer this one for you.
For me, it is the little things in life.
- A cup of chai with my loved ones with ‘gup Shupp/ chai pe charcha’ as we call it
- A day without any to-dos, meetings, and blocked calendars
- A good deep meditation, which makes me feel open, relaxed, and calm at the end of it
- A daily self-care routine, where I intentionally and consciously take care of myself like skincare, having superfoods, pranayama, etc.
- A slow, calm morning where I have a little time for myself
- A good conversation with an old friend, family, or a stranger
There are many more, and this could be a separate post altogether.
Overall, if you could figure out — it is the feeling of belongingness, that I choose everyday.
And, all the things/people who make me feel that way, are MY FAVORITE.
5. What is something that I dread the most?
I can’t emphasize enough, how important this question is because in a nutshell, it helps you identify the non-negotiables for you, in life.
It leads to clarity in thoughts, and creates a synchronization with actions/goals in life.
Answer this for yourself and you will learn so much.
If I were to answer this:
It is the feeling of dependability that I dread the most.
I like being independent, feeling enough, and empowering.
Anything/anyone, which makes me feel otherwise is something/someone, I dread.
6. Something(s) that I would like to improve in myself?
Are you checking on yourself, time & again?
Answering question 6 will answer the question above for YOU!
Personally, I do check on myself to give credit where due and also to recognize improvement areas, if any.
And, here’s my list:
- I overthink things, often more than the requirement.
I like to plan things and have the urge to know of all the possible events before occurrence.
This sometimes disturbs my peace; hence I am making a conscious effort to improve this habit.
2. I am someone, who feels a lot. I feel most of my emotions in volumes — love, happiness, sadness, anger, etc.
Not that I am sorry about it, because I am just human.
But I want to improve my control over dealing with these emotions.
Not to forget, I have made significant progress.
However, there is more to learn and improve on this.
3. Management in general. This is one area that has scope for improvement always, hence I keep striving to get better.
I want to learn and improve the management of my time, emotions, mind, stress, and priorities.
4. As a kid, I struggled greatly with my self-image and self-esteem.
It has been a very long journey for me to comprehend and put into practice self-love.
It has been two-fold — first loving the current self and after having made progress in that, second — changing the way I see myself.
It has been a very enriching and important journey so far but there is room remaining for more improvement.
7. How would my friends and/or family define me?
How are you perceived by people (your inner circle) around you?
Most often, people we love help us recognize our patterns.
So, you might want to ask this one to your inner circle.
For my friends and family — I am humorous, confident, empathetic, knowledgeable, lazy, expressive, conversationalist, assertive, opinionated, lovable, tiny & beautiful.
Oh yes, they admit that I am an excellent secret keeper.
You can rely on me entirely because I forget most of it after 2 days and my inner circle loves me for this. So, we are very good there, haha!
Some of my friends and family members think that if I were an animal in human form then I am best fit to represent a squirrel, lol.
8. What do I really want to achieve/accomplish in life?
What is the driving force in your life? What keeps you moving in life?
Answering this question would answer that for YOU. Leave the ‘how’ part for now, focus on ‘What’.
And, you will learn so much.
For me, one of the most important things in life is HOPE.
If I have hope in a situation, person, or life in general, I can keep moving.
Once, that hope fades away then it gets very difficult to breathe.
My ‘bird’s eye view’ goal in life is to be that HOPE for as many people around me as possible.
I want to create something that keeps that hope living in people.
Voila! — this was an indirect & detailed ‘about me’ section.
Surprisingly, while writing this I discovered new things about myself xP.
We all are an ocean of information, realization, and treasure in ourselves.
If you have read thus far, I would encourage you to answer all these questions for yourself.
Each one of us deserves to know our beautiful selves.
I PROMISE you will enjoy this ride A LOT! ❤
Go for it! 😊
With Love, TS.
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