Journey of self-actualisation
SELF-actualisation is not the destination but a process. It hits when you are ready to give back to society and the people around regardless, they have contributed or not in your life.
To make a difference and impact, make sure that your life is more meaningful and purposeful. It will give you inner pleasure and satisfaction, and therefore you’ll love what you do.
It is how we may achieve a dreamland on earth. However, to make life meaning full and purposeful, you need to go through a journey of self-exploration first.
Many of us go through life scanning the surface of our personalities where we don’t truly dig deeply into our thoughts, feelings, desires, and dreams.
Part of the problem is that we’re always racing to achieve things on our do list, and that list is never-ending. When to-do lists keep swelling, self-exploration gets faded and takes a back seat.
Our external environment is so busy, so full of stimulation, and it’s a real challenge to keep ourselves away long enough to take a good look inside. We cannot be everywhere; we cannot enjoy everything simultaneously, so it is essential to be focused and find authentic self to achieve inner connection and peace.
Self-exploration involves taking a look at your thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and motivations.
Having a deeper understanding of ourselves has many benefits. It “helps you be emotionally intelligent to understand own self, to understand others around and accept who they are and why they do what they do, which improves self-esteem, communication, and relationships.
Self-exploration is like working out — it gets easier when you’re consistent. Believe in yourself; self-actualization dramatically depends on how much you believe in yourself.
It is difficult, challenging as we are conditioned to doubt ourselves more than to believe. Self-confidence may be achieved if we come out of fear and let ourselves free with this belief that nothing is right and wrong, but more important is to have confidence that yes, we can do this.
Close your eyes, imaginative play, and achieve your goals. Those who value themselves and the gift of this life enough reach a point where the pain of staying inauthentic overrides their fear.
Who steps out of the into knows the joy of learning, and growth comes with the courage to step into the unknown.
Often what we fear the most is what our heart is calling us to become. It scares us because it matters that much. Step beyond the comfort zone to explore new perspectives, new learning, and new insights.
The urge to learn more will make you lead and reach self-actualization. Learning is an ongoing process. When you know the meaning of learning, unlearn and relearn, you can step out of your comfort zone and adopt new ways to stay relevant.
Change is the only constant, and the only way to keep up with this reality is to learn, unlearn and relearn. To reach self-actualization, usually, we are one step away, and only courageous and most daring people can handle that energy of going the extra mile.
Have a community of support—your vision keepers. Surrounding with people who supports your passion and goals will help you recharge and gain the required energy to go through this process of self-actualization.
The right people and the right environment help you explore your passion further and give you new perspectives.
Their company is as crucial in this journey as reaching the destination. Their presence in your life is to challenge you to explore the new height of your true self. They trigger that current in yourself, which is necessary to flow to keep your charge.
Self-actualization is a journey, and one should enjoy every bit of it. One should not be in a hurry to achieve it, and you need to complete it first to spread it further. ‘Growth never ends until the journey of life is complete,” Egel says.
“Reaching a point of self-actualization has to be maintained, just as a level of peak fitness must be maintained by consistent healthy habits and behaviours.” —The writer is an educationist based in Islamabad.
