Finding Self

Have you ever felt like a stranger in your own body? Ever felt like you are searching but don’t know what for? Or felt like you have something pending with yourself but just can’t put your finger on it? Well that, my friend, is a version of an identity crisis, or at least I think it is. Here is how I see it, you either haven’t figured out who you are, or for some reason, you’ve lost yourself.

I’ve recently been going through the latter. It’s better now though, and that’s why I decided to share. It’s not that I became a different person, it’s just that I couldn’t get hold of what makes me who I am. It’s a little hard to explain, but if you’ve had a similar experience, I am sure you get it.
Remember how I said it’s better now? It really wasn’t easy to get here, but a number of things helped.

1. Prayer and God’s word: I believe that our true identity is found in Christ, and therefore, what better place to start from than the word of God? Praying about it and confiding in God reminded me that I wasn’t alone.
2. Writing: I truly doubt what my level of sanity would be if I couldn’t put ink unto paper to express how I feel. Some of the things I wrote, other than how I felt, where the things that make me who I am. I wrote down what I am about, what my passion are, what makes me happy, and so on. This helped put things into perspective.
3. Stop and re-evaluate: Try to find at what point things started to go south. Mine was letting life pressures get to me. School pressure, people drama, tough circumstances and so forth weighed me down that I neglected the important thing, which was taking care of me.
4. Deliberately do things that make you happy: This is something I live by, but for a while, I neglected it. Now I take conscious decisions to stop and admire beautiful flowers or watch Mpoomy Ledwaba’s youtube channel. Even in the midst of exam period, I read a page or two from Strive Masiyiwa’s book, take time to journal, or admire beautiful photography and ideas on pinterest.
5. Spend time with people that know and appreciate you: We are influenced by the environment around us. Spending time with people that appreciate our true selves brings out who we are. Talking to these people about the situation also helps a great deal. This is something I don’t do often, but when I do, I ask myself why I didn’t do it earlier.

If you ever find yourself in a funk that feels similar to mine, or are going through it right now, try out what I did. I really hope it works for you as it did for me. Also, if you just need to talk about anything you’re going through, please let me know. I know how important a listening ear is. You can reach me through my instagram dm, and if need be, further contact details will be given.

IG: Shul_ie

Thank you for reading,
Till next time,
XO.