Lucifer

Who are you?

Can you describe yourself in a way that make it impossible to confuse you with another individual? Go ahead and try to think of your personality, your character, your self. It’s not so easy—uncovering the secrets that loom in the self can be incredibly elusive. However, no matter how difficult this task may be, everybody should engage in attaining a level of self-awareness. Despite the challenges inherent in the journey of self-discovery, it is imperative to illuminate what lies within the self.

While the process of deeper awareness may be hard at times, we possess the latent ability to recognize the self. For instance, humans can recognize themselves as separate from the world around them; in other words, they exhibit self-awareness. The capability to have a level of self-awareness is found in humans and great apes.[1] This test of self-awareness was conducted by the “mirror test” which tested whether animals could recognize the reflection in the mirror as themselves. However, the apes had a cursory understanding of the reflection, similar to the level of awareness that toddlers possess. The gap between adults and toddlers is fairly large and it makes sense that older people have more self-awareness than toddlers do. That doesn’t necessarily mean that this awareness increases constantly with age. For example, a method of increasing self-awareness seems to be the discovery of the self through self-reflection, which is introspective thinking about one’s own character, actions, and motives. I do not think that people engage often in self-reflection beyond a superficial level. From my personal experience, it seems that people do not think about why they do something or why they react to specific situations in certain ways. Sometimes, this response to avoid thinking introspectively may be deliberate. Sometimes, the monsters that lurk within instill more fear than the monsters in the physical world.

These monsters could be anything: insecurities, unpleasant memories, or even phobias. Psychological monsters exist within the self that an individual has not discovered yet. Imagine standing at the edge of an abyss and peering down at the darkness. There are likely recognizable shapes, but the precise forms remains obscured. Self-reflection serves to illuminate the abyss by throwing lights into areas that remain shrouded in darkness and obscurity. Despite the straightforward way of analyzing one’s self, self-reflection remains avoided. Maybe we are afraid of what Friedrich Nietzsche describes in one of his famous aphorisms, “Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you”. Perhaps we don’t want to stare into the abyss because our monsters may overwhelm us. However, if we run away from our problems, then we never get the chance to solve them. Confronting our fears by confronting our abyss is the only way to overcome our monsters. At some point, we have to recognize and cast off our defense mechanisms that prevent us from figuring out exactly what is causing certain personal problems. The abyss will remain dark and unknown as long as we let it fester in the absence of light. Self-reflection pulls back the curtains of the self and may improve a person’s life along with the people around that individual.

Through self-reflection, the process of self-improvement begins. In other words, being aware of who we are constitutes “an essential step” for self-improvement.[2] Practical demonstration of this concept correlated self-awareness with emotional intelligence and leadership ability.[3] Not only can a higher level of self-awareness help us be more attuned to our emotions, but it can also improve interpersonal relationships. Additional studies produced results indicating decreased aggression and wrongdoing with self-awareness.[4] For example, a study that measured the number of children who took more candy when they were not supposed to found that children that were less self-aware took more candy. [5] All of the benefits of exploring the self seem to indicate a fuller life.

Even if the benefits can be clearly seen, the path to self-discovery is littered with obstacles. Some people can intuitively navigate their abyss and illuminate the darkness with ease. It is important to note that all humans have the ability to improve their self-awareness, but not everyone utilizes this ability frequently. However, once this process begins, people will most likely be happier with themselves. So I urge you, once again, to go ahead and try to self-reflect.

Who are you?