Written by: Justin Tilghman, PhD, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Over the next few months, I'll be writing a series entitled "The Path to Purpose." Each month, we'll explore the core pillars that can help you transform your life from stressed and overwhelmed to calm, confident, and purposeful. If you follow along each month, I guarantee you'll begin to see changes in your life.
This month, we delve into the critical first step on this transformative journey: self-discovery. Understanding who you are is the foundation for finding your life's purpose and achieving personal growth. In this article, we'll explore the importance of self-awareness, introduce self-assessment tools, and offer introspective exercises to kickstart your journey to a purposeful life.
The importance of self-awareness in self-discovery
Self-awareness is more than a buzzword; it's the cornerstone of personal growth and a purpose-driven life. Being self-aware means clearly perceiving your personality, including your strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. This clarity is your internal GPS, guiding you through life's choices and challenges and steering you closer to your authentic self.
Self-assessment tools for self-discovery
Self-assessment tools are invaluable for gaining deeper insights into your personality and motivations. Here are some popular tools to consider:
SWOT Analysis: Evaluate your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to get a comprehensive view of your current state.
Personality Tests: Tools like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Enneagram can offer insights into your personality traits.
Introspective exercises for self-discovery
Introspection is the practice of examining your thoughts and feelings to gain self-awareness. Here are some introspective exercises to help you on your path to purpose:
Journaling: Spend 15-20 minutes each day writing down your thoughts, feelings, and observations. Look for recurring themes that could point to deeper interests or passions.
The 'Why' Exercise: For any goal or desire you have, ask yourself 'Why?' five times in succession to get to the root cause or deeper meaning behind it.
Actionable tips: Your first steps on the path to purpose
To get started on your journey to self-discovery and a purposeful life, try this simple exercise:
1. Ask yourself the following questions (in this order)
a. What do I want out of life?
b. What will that do for me?
c. Why is that important to me?
2. Write down the answers and identify key themes (values).
3. Next, rank them in order of importance.
4. Reflect on whether your current life aligns with these values.
Final thoughts
Understanding yourself is the first crucial step to a purposeful life. Self-awareness, self-assessment tools, and introspective exercises are your starting points. Stay tuned for next month's installment, where we'll explore how to unlock your life's purpose.
Follow me on Social Media for more motivation, education, and inspiration. I'd also love to hear how this article resonated with you, so don't hesitate to reach out!
Justin Tilghman, PhD, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Justin Tilghman is a life and leadership coach who specializes in moving clients from stressed and overwhelmed to calm, confident, and purposeful. Over the past 10 years he has worked with clients around the world, helping them to gain clarity and direction in their lives and begin living lives of deeper meaning and purpose. With a unique coaching program grounded in four core pillars—self-understanding, purpose, confidence, and resilience—Justin offers long-term, transformative coaching experiences that are tailored to each specific client. The foundation of his program is a holistic approach that fosters connection with oneself, God, and others. Justin has an unwavering commitment to seeing his clients operate at their highest potential and living lives full of meaning and purpose.
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