The Greeks had the saying, “know thyself.” However, how do we come to know ourselves, particularly our personalities and potential? One of the primary ways to come to know oneself is to understand that we don’t entirely know ourselves. We can learn to watch ourselves as if we were strangers, but to do so, we must adopt a position of radical humility.
The Humility of Recognizing Ignorance
Radical humility can be understood in two senses. The first is the humility of recognizing one’s ignorance. It can be challenging to understand that we don’t know who we are because we often think that we do. But the truth is, we cannot control ourselves well, we are not very disciplined, and we are full of flaws. Maybe we don’t know ourselves as well as we think we do. It’s difficult to get low enough to understand how deeply it is the case that we are ignorant about who we are.
The Upside of Ignorance
On the other hand, there is an upside to recognizing our ignorance. We are also ignorant about who we could be. Discovering who we could be is some reward for the horror of determining who we actually are.
Watching Yourself
The second way to come to know oneself is by watching oneself, tending to one’s conscience, and seeing oneself as a stranger. We can watch what we say, listen, and think about what kind of person would say that. We can also ask ourselves how we are reacting emotionally when we communicate in that manner. Is it making us feel stronger or weaker? Is it filling us with shame or helping our confidence? Are we laying out a lie or deceiving ourselves and others? Are we adopting a personality at parties designed to impress and amuse, but which comes across as nothing but self-centered narcissism? These are all incredibly complicated questions, and we don’t know the answers to them.
Fantasies and Aggressions
We also need to ask ourselves about our dark and aggressive fantasies. What are we willing to do, and what interests us enough to pursue it spontaneously? What do we procrastinate about, and why? What are we unwilling to do? What do we think is good? What do we congratulate ourselves for accomplishing, and what do we berate ourselves for failing to confront and implement? These are all essential questions, but we don’t know the answers to them.
Discovering Your Potential
To discover our potential, we need to challenge ourselves. We should take a look at ourselves and think about what’s not so good that we could improve, that we should improve, and that we would improve. We can set ourselves a little goal, like studying at university or tackling that stack of papers on our desk that we have avoided for a month.
Humble Goals
Setting a goal is a humble task because we must recognize that we are fundamentally flawed to the point where we need to break things down into child-like steps to manage them. It’s challenging to grapple with the fact that we need to take small steps to improve, but it’s necessary. We need to break our goals down into manageable chunks and take those small steps in the right direction. The question is whether we are big enough to take those small steps, and the answer is, we are.
Taking Responsibility for Yourself
One of the key steps towards conquering chaos is taking responsibility for oneself. This means standing up straight with your shoulders back and taking on the world one step at a time. It’s crucial to remember that this doesn’t mean biting off more than you can chew. It’s important to start with small challenges that you have a good chance of overcoming, gradually working your way up to more significant challenges.
Once you’ve taken responsibility for yourself and conquered a small part of chaos, you can begin to align your actions with a higher purpose. This purpose may involve restructuring chaotic elements of your life into something deeper and more profound, creating a more suitable environment for human habitation.
Allowing Yourself to Be a Fool
It’s important to allow yourself to be a fool, at least in the beginning. This means admitting that you don’t know what you’re doing and being willing to make mistakes along the way. It’s essential to let go of your ego, particularly if it’s interfering with your progress.
This process of shedding your ego can be difficult, and it may involve confronting some unpleasant truths about yourself. However, it’s a necessary step towards growth and development, as it allows you to move forward without the limitations of your ego holding you back.
Watching Yourself Like a Snake
To understand yourself better, it’s recommended to watch yourself like a snake. This means observing yourself with detachment, without allowing your desires or emotions to interfere with what you see. It’s essential to recognize your flaws and weaknesses honestly, as this is the only way to make meaningful progress.
Challenging Yourself Continually
One of the most critical steps towards conquering chaos is continually challenging yourself to do better. Setting goals each day that are just beyond your reach and then pushing yourself to surpass them is crucial to achieving success.
Guiding Your Efforts with Moral Purpose
It’s important to guide your efforts with a moral purpose. This means aligning yourself with the highest possible good and pursuing that goal with truth in speech and action. The more you put into your efforts, the more you’ll develop your potential and the more likely you are to achieve your goals.
Undertaking the Adventure
Conquering chaos is not an easy task, and it requires a significant amount of effort and dedication. However, it’s an adventure worth undertaking. While it may take you out of your comfort zone and cause you to feel isolated or alienated, the meaning you can derive from this journey is profound.
To summarize, discipline, taking responsibility for oneself, and admitting one’s flaws are essential steps towards personal growth. By challenging oneself to take on larger and more difficult tasks, one can improve their abilities and expand their confidence.
The key to personal growth is a commitment to the highest possible vision of good, guided by truth and moral effort. While this journey can be isolating and sorrowful at times, it ultimately leads to deep meaning and fulfillment. Taking on this kind of responsibility is not easy, but it is the best way to make the most out of one’s life.
