Many years ago, in the 1980s, when I was a young publisher, I became friendly with the author of one of the books we were promoting who was a psychotherapist.  At the time the concept of personal development and therapy was something I knew nothing about and I therefore had no understanding of why self-knowledge might be helpful to anyone.  My therapist friend recommended that I try a session with a colleague of hers as she thought I might enjoy the exploration.  I was astounded.  ‘You mean I could spend nearly an hour simply talking about myself’, I said. ‘What could I possibly learn from that?’.

Several years later, after I had found myself working on a telephone helpline in my spare time, and learned about the importance of being a good listener, and after I had completed an introductory course in counselling and then embarked on a therapeutic diploma myself, I understood so much more about the value and importance of personal self-development to living a happy and authentic life.

Adrift in a vast sea of limited emotional understanding

Without an ability to put our words and our actions into some kind of personal context that enriches our understanding of how we have become who we are and why we behave in the way that we do, we cannot help but find ourselves constantly adrift in a sea of limited understanding.  How can we make sense of the countless interactions – and our response to them – that take place on a daily basis if we have little or no understanding of our own self, and of self in relation to another?

Rewards of doing the work

Self-knowledge work is not easy but the rewards can be huge.  If we embark on it at a young age, we have less material to work with and a little understanding of self can go a very long way, enabling younger people to grow up with less stress and much more understanding and tolerance of others.  When we embark on the adventure in our middle years, we have additional wisdom and experience to bring and can enjoy the excitement – and sometimes relief –  of suddenly making sense of so many previous emotional experiences and relationships which we might otherwise have completely failed to understand.

How self-awareness helps leaders

When leaders embark on a voyage of self-exploration, their work benefits not only themselves and those immediately surrounding them but also countless others whom they may never meet but who are affected by the work that they do.  When they understand their reactions to other people better, examine their own motives as to how and why they behave in the way they do, when they appreciate the mastery of the ego which often comes with understanding that the more they learn, the less they will know, their influence can then be used in the most positive and prestigious of ways and will enable them to leave a legacy of which they can truly be proud.

Emotional mastery gives us more control over our lives

Self-knowledge work is not and can never be simple for we have to start by understanding and accepting our own selves first, warts and all.  But as we take the time to recognise the defences we have put in place, we often open ourselves up to a glorious conscious awareness and understanding of ourselves and of others and of our potential in the universe.  As human being struggle to find their balance in the constantly changing world in which we live, the rewards of this personal exploration are an amazing and diverse emotional toolkit and the beginnings of a lifelong understanding of emotional mastery which will be of value every day of our future lives.