“A crucial aspect of knowing yourself is being able to define where your self-identity resides.”

A thought by John Ortberg, (2015-02-24) from his book. All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door.  What Will You Do?   (p. 153). Tyndale house publishers, inc.. Kindle edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

You might ask, why do I need to know myself?  What difference will that make in my life?  Well John tells us why.  He says, “By having a clear sense of your interests and strengths (those skills that you are good at and enjoy using most), aptitude, talents, personality, aspirations, and life experiences, you can begin to envision the type of work  — and life  — that would be appealing and meaningful to you.”  I think that would be helpful, don’t you?

He continues, “By knowing yourself, you will develop a new set of valuable lenses to evaluate potential opportunities and to prioritize work that you could pursue and work that you probably shouldn’t.”

And then, “A crucial aspect of knowing yourself is being able to define where your self-identity resides. Often people’s dreams and career interests are driven by what they think will please their parents, impress their friends, be acceptable to their spouse, or provide personal benefits like money, power, influence, or prestige. Some can name these attachments; others can’t without an external perspective as well as reflective introspection. These attachments are often things that people might perceive as important to them but, upon close examination, really are not.”

You see, “If I know what most motivates me, I will be able to live a life of sustained engagement. If I know my wounds and weaknesses, I will be able to grow and perhaps even conquer them. If I know the kind of people I best work with, I will be able to be part of a team and not just a solo act.”

So who are you?  What are your Spiritual gifts?  What do you love to do?  What abilities to you have?  What are you really good at?  What type of personality do you have?  And what kind of experiences have you had?  Take out your computer and start writing, start answering these questions and then find someone who really knows you and see how they would answer these questions. 

So really, who are you?