How Understanding Yourself Is Only Surface Level

Understanding yourself is so important. Knowing your narratives, your filters, your reactions, your values and beliefs matters. 

However

It's only the first step.

It's surface level.

If you have a deep knowledge yourself, what are you doing about it? Is it changing your interactions with people? Or do you believe people should change to meet your expectations?

If you have a deep understanding of yourself, it should be life changing. 

If you want to be accountable to your knowledge then you should be changing your actions, reactions, and responses.

If you are not, then you have only done surface level work.

I am not saying you need to change your values or beliefs. I am saying if you understand you have a value, and another person doesn't share that value, knowing that should change how you interact with that person. 

Because you won't be trying to change their mind or getting angry or arguing. You will understand that that would be pointless. Because you understand yourself better you are then able to to understand other people better.

That should be a kickoff to changed behavior. 

Words do matter, and actions matter as well. Words without actions become empty and untrustworthy. If you can say, "well, I know xyz about myself, and therefore you shouldn't do abc" that isn't really changing. That's expecting others to meet your expectations of yourself.

Knowing yourself is step one. Understanding how that changes your actions is step two. Putting into action the steps need to interact on a higher level with others is step three. There are many more things that can follow.

None of it will happen, though if you don't put on your oxygen mask first. How can you expect others to change if you don't.