SELF DISCOVERY

OLADIIPO Damilola

THE ESSENCE OF SELF-DISCOVERY ON YOUR EXCELLENTIA PURSUIT.

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. C.G. Jung.

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom- Aristotle.

INTRODUCTION
As ever y electronic gadget is created to meet a specific need, so likewise is ever y human on the surface of the earth. God has created us to fill a particular spot, to dominate it with something he has deposited in us (potential, gift). Looking at the word potent - it means something that is unused, an untapped resource. Potential means capable of being , but not yet in existence, latent.

What I mean is this, God did not give us these potentials for decoration, but it's for us to dis cover and use it for his purpos e and to benefit mankind.

T hat is why I will be ta k ing you briefly on a journey of self - discover y, and I believe that at the end short e - book, you understand Gods orig inal plan for you and you will begin to see its manifestation in you life.
So pleas e spare me few minutes out of your precious time as we emba rk on t his journey.

WHAT IS SELF DISCOVERY?

"True leadership (excellence) is not a product of a course of study but a course in selfdiscovery".

Self dis cover y is s imply finding or uncovering y our own individualit y. You are created as an original product not a counterfeit. Yo u a re c reated independent ly, a s an entity and you need to discover your orig inality .

In the pursuit of s elf - dis cover y, we often encounter the challenge of identity crisis.
Identity refers to the stable, defining c ha racteristics of a pers on t hat makes them an individual.

Having a solid sense of identity requires a thorough understanding of oneself, traits, t hought pattern, st rengt h, wea k ness.

Ac cording to Erikson, an identity c risis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself.

It is being experienc ed at va rious points throughout life, particularly at a point of great change, e. g. beginning of a new job, g ra duating from t he tert ia r y inst itution, etc.
I have come to discover that most people that do not understand themselves, their purpose and potential fall for any thing that comes their way.

knowing yourself is the beginning of wisdom'. Aristotle

When they find their friends engaging in an activity without knowing the reason, they also want to be because they don't have their personal identity . This knowledge will help you in most decisions you make like career path, choice of friends, a nd choice of what you rea d a nd listen to.

Before you can be excellent in anything you do, you need to answer these 3 important questions.

T hee question of your Pe rs on, Potential and Purpose .

W ho am I? - answers the question of your PERSO N

W hat is my g ift ? - a nswers t he question of POTENTIAL How and whom can I s e r ve ? - answers the question of PURPO SE

3 Ps
PERSONAL
POTENTIAL PURPOSE

DISCOVERY

T he 1 st point of ca ll is to k now God, an understanding and relationship with him helps you understand who you are.
B e fo r e I fo r m e d t h e e i n t h e b e l l y, I k n e w t h e ; a n d b e fo r e t h o u c a m e fo r t h o u t o f t h e w o m b I s a n c t i f i e d t h e e a n d I o r d a i n e d t h e e u n to t h e n a t i o n s Jeremiah 1 :5
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy c a l l i n g , n o t a c c o r d i n g to o u r o w n w o r k s , b u t a c c o r d i n g to h i s o w n p u r p o s e a n d g r a c e w h i c h w a s g i v e n u s i n C h r i st J e s u s b e fo r e t h e w o r l d b e g a n

II timothy 1:9

No one is a mista ke; God ha s s pecific purpose and plan for ever y individual.
God has given unto ever y man a talent or potential according to his or her ability, your ability to discover them and put to proper use gives you fulfillment in life.
A n d u n to o n e h e g a v e f i v e ta l e n t s , to a n o t h e r t w o a n d to a n o t h e r o n e : a n d u n to e v e r y m a n a c c o r d i n g to h i s s e v e r a l a b i l i t y ; a n d st r a i g h t w a y to o k h i s j o u r n e y . M att:25:15

PERSONAL DISCOVERY

Who in the world am I? Ah! That's the greatest puzzle' Lewis Carroll.

T his is a bout understa nding your personal self. Most people don't know who they really are, their personality traits (introvert , ex trovert), temperament (Choleric, sanguine, melancholy, phlegmatic) etc.
When you have an understanding off these va rious traits, it helps you in dec ision making about your life and future. It helps you understand your Strength, weakness, opportunities, and t hreat s .

Your personality is t he es s enc e of who you are and how you appear to other people. It lends continuity to your identity over time, tying together your early childhood and ongoing life experiences, your unique approach to the people and events around you, and your aspirations and apprehensions on how you may develop in t he future .
It affects, and is affected by how others perceive and respond to you. It is reflected in the things you say, the way you feel, and the way you choose to lead your life.

It is also reflected in t he way ot hers perceive and respond to you, as well as in your personal beliefs, goals and expectations, hopes and fears, even the way you perceive other people and interpret their behaviors. The more you understand about your personality, the better you can understand your act ions, your feeling s a nd your relationships. Briefly I will go deep into pers onality types using the Berkeley Personality Profile w hich uses the big five personality dimension.

EXAMPLE OF A PERSONALITY TEST RESULT

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T he big five dimens ion ca pt ures a n entire continuum of individual differences, such that the behavioral characteristics of people at one end of the dimension is the opposite of the behavior at the other ex treme. We have different pers ona lit y test you can conduct to determine or have an idea of your personality. Two of them would be ment ioned in this material but you can google to get the others and also conduct a personality test.
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MYERS BRIGGS PERSONALIYTY TEST

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Berkeley Personality Profile

the big five personality dimension
Expressive style / Ex t rave rs ion Ranges from being quiet, restrained, introverted TO being energetic, enthusiastic, a nd ex traverted or a ny where in between.
Inte rpe rsonal style / Ag re e able ne ss Ra nges from being a loof ( not friendly, cold, distant), inconsiderate, or even cruel at one ex treme TO being warm, generous and even s elf - sacrificing at t he ot her.
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 Work style / Consc ie ntiousne ss It concerns the ex tent to which an individual foc uses on tasks a nd meet s res ponsibilities ranging from preferring to procrastinate and take it easy TO working hard with intense dedication to commitments. Emotional style / N e urotic ism Concerns an individual's temperament and typical way of dealing with stress, ranging from being calm, relaxed, and even - tempered TO being moody and emotionally intense.
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 Intellec tual style/ Openness It reflects the ex tent to which you are geared towards new experiences and ideas. Refers to the ex tent to which a person favors familiar and traditional ideas and experiences or prefers to question the norms, taking an original, creative, or a na ly t ica l a pproach towards life.

Knowing your pers ona lit y will help you understand and control recurrent patterns in your ow n life experiences. It might be leading you to repeatedly ma ke t he s a me type of life choices, seek out the same type of personal
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relationships, drift into t he s a me type of work situation, and experience the same types of worries, delights, or frustrations.
You need to understand that your personality doesn't out rightly determine Gods purpose for your life. It's just a way of realizing your stat us as human. What I mean by this is, its ver y easy for you to conclude that because you are an introvert, cool, calm and res er ve; you mig ht not find yourself functioning in any leadership position in the future.
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Moses wasnt eloquent, after God made his purpose known to him, he was still conscious of his personality ( wea k nes s ) . T he book of Exodus chapter three and four in the holy bible covers the stor y.
T h e n M o s e s s a i d to t h e L o r d , o my l o r d , I a m n o t e l o q u e nt , n e i t h e r b e fo r e n o r s i n c e y o u h a v e s p o ke n to y o u r s e r v a nt ; b u t I a m s l o w o f s p e e c h a n d s l o w o f to n g u e . Exodus :4 :1 0

God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wis e s o t hat his g lor y will be made known . You might possess some character that does

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not incline or support what you envisage of becoming in life and you are almost getting confused and as king yourself if this was the purpose you were created to fulfil? My admonition to you this day is that you s hould ask God for help. He ha s s ufficient grace to help you fulfill your ministr y. In our weakness, his strength is made perfect. That is why we have the Holy Spirit, and it's important that ever y Christian is filled with t his spirit. A good example is Apostle Peter, as a disciple,
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he was timid to identif y with Christ when he was about to die, but after he received t he Holy spirit in the upper room, t he confidence came to face the crowd and preach the gospel and also fulfil the essence of his apostleship. You need to come to a point of realization that we are weak and insufficient of our own then God will be ready to stretch out his helping to as many as are sincere.

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PEOTENTIAL DISCOVERY
The potential of an average person is like a huge ocean un-sailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled towards some great good -Brain Tracy

POTENTIAL DISCOVERY

P otential discover y is about discovering

talents/ gifts God has imbedded in you during creation that are meant to create solutions to problems. Potentials could be in form of g ifts/ talents which is innate. Its inborn, all you need to do is discover it and Skills whic h could be acquired through formal or informal training. You discover the talents by asking yourself, what are those things you do with ease without a formal training or education?

T hings You are just good at nat urally e. g. (painting , writing , speaking , sports etc.
Briefly, here are 10 questions to help yo u discover your po tential:

T hink about each of t hes e quest ions carefully and answer them honestly. Record your responses. W hat is my deepe st de s ire ?
W h a t a re th e th in g s you wa nt most in life?

W hat is my passion?
W h a t is th e th in g you simp ly mu st d o? W h a t a n ima tes or en erg izes you / wh a t ma kes you for g et to ea t or sleep ? W hat makes me ang r y?

W h a t d o you wish y ou cou ld ch a n g e a b ou t th e world ? W h a t a re th e th in g s you con sid er u n ju st, in a d eq ua te or in ferior in q u a lity? W hat ideas are pe rs iste nt ?
W h a t id ea s, invention s, or in n ova tion s keep comin g b a ck to you ?

W hat do I constantly imag ine? W h a t is you r vision for you r life or oth ers' life? W hat do I want to do for humanity?

W h a t p r ob lem wou ld y ou like to solve? Wh a t n eed wou ld you fill?

W hat are my rec urring dreams? W h a t d o you d a y d rea m a b ou t d oin g or a ccomp lish in g? W h a t d o you wish you cou ld d o if you cou ld d o a ny thing?

W hat bring s me the g reatest fulfillment? W h a t a ctivities, p roject, cou rses, jobs, a n d h ob b ies h a ve b rou g ht you th e most fu lfillments? W hat could I do forever even if there was no monetar y compensation? W h a t wou ld you d o most of th e time even if you n ever ea rn ed a ny mon ey for it?

W hat would I rat he r be doing ?

W h a t wou ld you p refer to b e d oin g rig ht n ow? W h a t wou ld you d o tod a y if you h a d th e d a y of f to d o a ny thin g y ou wa nted ?

Review your answers , hig hlig ht recurring themes and noting how your answer fits into the picture of who you are and what you enjoy doing.
Answering these questions will give you an understanding of your potentials and how you ca n channel them to a c hieving Gods purpose for your life.

There are 4 basic stages in Potential discover y:

Understanding stage : t his is t he stage of understanding that there is something we call potential and you have a measure of it in you.
Realization stage: this is where you realize that God has deposited something inside of you and it takes you to dis cover it. The potential in you will only come to reality if only you accept that you are full of potentials. Realizat ion be get s ac tualization.

D eveloping stage : t his sta ges comes up after you have an understanding and realization of your potentials. You have to develop or refine it. Education alone cannot give you a gift; it can help you refine a gift. Gold is a good exa mple. In its crude state, it s not attractive therefore it needs refinement to g ive yo u t he desired gold. To develop or refine yo ur g ift s , you have to:
Spend time alone in thought.

Write down your des ires a nd visions.

Read books relating to your potential.

Identif y people who ca n help you.

Take advantages of the opportunity to learn. Volunteer your ser vices. Your gift might be music, you are naturally gifted, you have perfect pitch, you play by ear or s ing like a night inga le; but to use this gift effectively, to perform at a professional level, to compose music others can reproduce, or to tea ch people in c hurc h or in a college, you will need to study music formally, that is the process of development. It is ver y essential to having a refined out put .

Ac tualization stage: this is the sta ge w here the outcome of the refined gift is being used to achieve Gods purpose for your life. Before actualization, the experience may not be pleasing , friends and family may antagonize you, you might even have to c ha nge your circle of influence to actualize your potential. After actualization you can use the refined gift to s er ve humanit y or ma ke it a s ource of income.

PURPOSE DISCOVERY

If you cant figure out your purpose, figure out your passion, for your passion will lead you right into your purposeBishop T.D Jakes.

God has created you for a particular purpose, a nd you must dis cover it . Pur pos e is just something you have been destined and desig ned to do per time.

It 's something that a ny t ime you are around it, you feel a sensation burning within you, you feel there is a way you can make this better, you feel an eagle calling on to the eaglet in you, the passion is just there - that is yo ur purpose calling out to you.

Passion is a ver y strong enthusiastic feeling a bout a person or t hing . It ca n ca use you act in a dangerous way.

Pa s sion is motivated by a vis ion, birthed from a conviction, and produced by a sense of purpose - Myles Munroe. Look at the account of of J es us c ritically in John: 4:6 - 35, even though he was hungr y his passion made him forget the hunger and pursue his purpose on earth
John Knox of Scotland said something - g ive me Scotland lest I die .

These are few examples of men who were passionate about something. Is there something you can lay down your life for that even when people a re s eeing the negative, when all hope is lost you can still stand for? Purpose is original intent for your life and it must be found. It is the reason for which we exist, the thing t he creator sent us to do. The bible speaks of t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s s a c h a r w h o
h a d a n u n d e r sta n d i n g o f t i m e a n d w h o k n o w s w h a t I s r a e l o u g ht to d o .

T hey understood purpos e.

Ever y experience you go through in life is preparing you for t hat g reat purpose God has planned for you. Personal and potential discover y helps you discover your purpose.

Purpose changes per t ime t hat is why you have to be spiritually inclined to know Gods purpose for you per tim e and until you fulfil the purpose for a particular phase of your life, you cant move to the nex t. A s pecific purpos e at different t imes accumulates to a future purpose you have

been designed to fulfill.

God can reveal to you what he wants you to do with your life, a nd a ls o g ive to you a step by step approach to achieving it. Purpose is different from your career or course of study, for s ome it is attached to it, for some it's n ot. What's your purpose for being in school? What the purpose for the situation you find yourself in now ? When you find purpose at ever y stage and phase of your life, fulfilling destiny wo n't be a diffic ult ta s k and like I earlier mentioned.

God is a major fa c tor in whatever discover y you are making T h o s e t h a t k n o w t h e i r G o d s h a l l b e st r o n g a n d d o ex p l o i t D an 11:32

To discover Gods purpose, you will also need his manual - the bible. Before you make plans for your life, consult God for his purpose for your life. Plans should be an outcome of purpose .

T h e re a re m a ny p l a n s i n a m a n s h e a r t ,
n e ve r t h e l e s s t h e L o rd s co u n s e l - t h at w i l l sta n d

Proverbs 19:21 .

In t he book of Myles M unroe - in charge he says that: T he creator will revea l your purpose only if you have a passion to know it.
The creator will only tell you what you want to know. The creator will only show you what you want to see . The creator will only take you as far as you want to go.

When you discover your purpos e, you become immune to opposition; you push through

any thing or go around any obstacle to pursue your vision. No m atter w hat peo ple do to ho ld yo u dow n, they cannot because you have a purpose. It's your driving force. In I T im:2 :7 , you will see that Paul understood his purpose. The reason for your present position is not because God isn't rea dy to ma ke his plans known to you, but because you are not interested in knowing . T he scripture makes us understand t h at G o d i s
a b l e to d o exc e e d i n g l y a b o v e a l l y o u co u l d e v e r

t h i n k o r a s k fo r a cco r d i n g to t h e p o w e r t h a t w o r ks i n y o u .

My people perish beca us e t hey la ck proper knowledge . Know ledge is key in ta king a master y of yourself and a full deliver y of your potentials and Gods purpos e for your life.
Excellence is a virtue ever y true child of God must aspire to attain, and as God has opened your eyes to understand who you are and why you are created, you will begin to manifest exc ellence in all you do in t he precious name of Jesus.

REFERENCES
Wikipedia

In charge- Myles Munroe

W h o d o y o u t h i n k y o u a r e ? - Ke i t h H a r a r y, P H . D. , a n d E i l e e n D o n a h u e , P H . D >

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