It's true, what it says above, that you know yourself better than other people know you. However, I posit that you don't know yourself well enough yet. Here's what I'm thinking.
I've heard people cop out of trying to do things by saying, "I know myself, I won't ever..." You can fill in the ending with whatever activity people want to do or stop doing but haven't been able to quit.
- I know myself, I won't go to a gym three times per week.
- I know myself, I won't stop eating dessert whenever it's available.
- I know myself, I can't write every day.
- I know myself, I'm not going to volunteer at a shelter.
Well, I don't buy any of that. Instead, I think people should use what they know about themselves to figure out how to do those activities they want to do. Let's reframe.
- I know myself, so I'm going to watch my new Netflix shows only when I'm at the gym.
- I know myself, so I'm going to eat offered desserts only when I've had three different kinds of fruits and vegetables first.
- I know myself, so I'm not going to allow myself to read my fun book until I've completed my daily writing. (You can probably tell which one of these I use most often.)
- I know myself, so I'm going to bring friends with me when I volunteer at that shelter.
If we use what we know about ourselves to become the people we want to be, we might like what we know about ourselves more.
To be clear, this isn't a braggy post, it's an aspirational one. What advice do you all have to help people use what we know about ourselves to improve what we do? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
I learned from a friend, successful SmokeEnders graduate: It’s had to stop a habit, but much easier to stop the behavior when you develop an incompatible habit. Eg, instead of an after meal smoke, brush your teeth.
That’s a good system––unpairing behaviors rather than pairing them. I bet there are lots of good examples of this people can add to the list. Thanks!