It always amazes me to hear someone who has given another person the perceived wisdom, to know them better than they know themselves. Have you ever heard someone say that “my husband (brother, friend, lover, neighbor, co-worker…etc) says that I” (insert whatever statement explains a certain aspect of their personality here) “but, I don’t think that I am like that. Well, maybe I am… I don’t know; what do you think”?
They are questioning their own ability to know themselves better than their friends or relatives. They are validating themselves through the eyes of others…and often will give more weight to the opinion of others…then to what they think of themselves. So I wonder, who knows you better than you know yourself?
Sometimes self doubt has crept inside a person’s head from listening too often to the opinion of others. If someone has been verbally abused or put down…they begin to believe it and don’t trust their own judgement. Learning how to overcome that and begin to build up a level of self awareness takes time. It is important to get to know yourself and like yourself, for who you are. If you don’t put yourself in situations where you test your knowledge of yourself, you will always allow others to have an emotional sway over how you think of yourself; and, the choices you make in your daily life. You can repair your self esteem and your ability to make good decisions based on your own judgement; instead of depending on the opinions of other people.
That is not to say that everyone else’s opinion should be disregarded; however, you should not allow the opinion of another person to “tell you” who you are or define you. They may have an observation about certain aspects of your personality or behavior; but, they don’t know the person inside of your head and inside of your spirit. Their observations may help you see how you are perceived by others…but, that is not the total package.
So, go ahead, get information from others…but, take that information and put it together with what you know about yourself to be true. Spend time trying to explore who you are, why you think the way you do, why you react the way you do in certain situations… and learn to trust your own instincts. Being a confident person takes time and testing. But by being willing to grow and learn…you can change or improve the parts of yourself that you are not happy with; you can build upon your character strengths and assets. To do that you have to be honest with yourself and evaluate who you are accurately. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses…character plusses and minuses.
So can it be true? Is there no one who knows you better than yourself? Not a doctor, a spiritual leader or pastor, a parent, not a counselor, a friend, lover, or any family member? Well, the truth is ….they all see different parts of ourselves. They see what we allow them to see. If they have your best interest at heart…their opinions and observations can be extremely helpful and valuable to you as a person…but, never allow someone’s opinion to over-ride truths that you know about yourself.
There is only one who knows you better than you know yourself…that is the Creator, God, Lord God Almighty, Master Physician, Allah, The Great I Am, the Alpha and Omega; that is the only one who understands you from the inside out. He knows your heart, your mind, your body and your intentions. He knew you as you formed in your mother’s womb. He is with you always and therefore knows about your successes and your failures. The opinion of God is the only one that matters more than your own! Be pleasing and acceptable to him, according to his guide book, the (Bible), and you will be a person of exceptional value to yourself and to others. There is no better standard or measure of a person’s heart and mind.
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