When I was young I used to think I would know exactly what I wanted to do with my life. As I grew older and still didn’t know, I thought maybe I was a “late bloomer”. I mean some of us are late bloomers and don’t have it all figured out right away. Little did I know that years later into adulthood, I still wouldn’t have it all figured out!

I began to realize the one thing that stayed with me throughout my life, I never really fit in anywhere. But I never knew how different until I realized that I could only connect with a few close friends and making friends certainly did not come easy for me. Most of the time I preferred my own company to others especially if I didn’t have much in common with them. The other lesson I learned later in life is when you expect too much from people you will surely be disappointed.

I was a bit of a loner immersing myself into my writing and listening to music. I didn’t know who I was yet and wasn’t even certain I liked who I was. Now I know that learning to love oneself comes only when you accept who you are, whatever that may be. Self-acceptance is a long scary road of “unknowns”. You have to learn to love and accept “the not so good” parts of you as well as the parts that you like because it’s all one package.

Learn to believe in yourself. Nothing can hurt a person more than “self-doubt”. Believing in yourself and becoming your own person requires a tremendous amount of courage. The only way you can accomplish this is to learn how “not to care” what others think of you. This is the first and quite possibly the hardest step towards self-discovery. Never mind what people think of you and learn to live your own truth. In other words, be true to yourself.

Getting to know “who you are”:

* Learn to enjoy spending time alone
* Find your passion in life
* Don’t worry about what others think
* Figure out what makes you happy

Spending time by yourself is crucial because this will be a learning experience for you and shows you how you enjoy spending your alone time. Spending your time on what you love helps to nurture the person you are becoming. Nurturing yourself can also lead you straight to your passion in life and possibly your purpose in life! Everyone needs a purpose, a reason to be here in order to feel productive. This transformation of one’s self comes about when you stop worrying about what others think and start concentrating on your purpose.

And lastly, try not to spend valuable time and energy on what others are saying and doing. Let them do their thing and you do yours. When you start loving the person you are becoming which incidentally, can take most of your lifetime, you will begin to love and appreciate your life and ultimately become much happier. And remember, you don’t have to have it all figured out. Nobody does. You learn who you are along the way. It’s all part of your lifelong journey of being true to yourself.