Finding Myself

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I was listening to some audio snippets from Carl Jung about authenticity and the way we can slowly lose ourselves while trying to fit into society.

It got me thinking. We are born with certain tendencies, personalities and curiosities, but society quickly starts teaching us what is acceptable, admirable and rewarded. Be polite. Be successful. Be agreeable. Be sociable. Get good grades. Get a good job. Get married. Have children. Be this. Don't be that.

And because some of these things are genuinely good for us, we learn them. We adapt. We become versions of ourselves that work well in the world. But somewhere along the way, we can forget to ask: Do I actually want this?

Jung spoke about the persona we present to the world, the social mask we develop to function within it. The problem isn't having a mask. We all need different versions of ourselves for different situations. The problem is forgetting that we are wearing one.

So how do we find ourselves again? I'm beginning to think self-awareness starts with curiosity. What makes me feel alive? What do I enjoy when nobody is watching? What am I doing because I genuinely value it, and what am I doing because I want approval? What makes me afraid? What makes me angry? Where do I keep saying yes when everything inside me is saying no?

And perhaps one of the biggest questions: If nobody could praise me for my choices or criticize me for them, what would I choose?

I don't think becoming authentic means throwing away everything society taught us. Some of those lessons have helped us become who we are. Maybe it means examining them and deciding which ones we still want to keep.

Perhaps finding yourself isn't about going backwards to discover some untouched "true self." Maybe it is about becoming conscious enough to choose who you want to become. I'm still figuring out what makes me, well... ma.

And I'm curious about everyone else. Do you know who you are beneath the expectations? And if you do, how did you get there?

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