We all have our shadow self hiding within us. The key to understanding yourself lies within your ability to embrace it. When we start looking within, we realize that there are many aspects to ourselves, those that we are aware of and those we are unaware of. These parts of ourselves that we are not aware of are typically known as the shadow self. The more we are unaware of the shadow, the more it can rule us from the unconscious.
We have our conscious mind, who we want to think we are. But if we don’t look inward into ourselves, there will be a shadow aspect: who we actually are.
Understand yourself more with the shadow aspect of self.
Through self-awareness, we can begin to sit between these two parts of ourselves as the observer. As we sit, we begin to understand how the shadow aspects affect how we see things and behave. As Carl Jung says, “To confront a person with his shadow is to show him his own light… Anyone who perceives his shadow and his light simultaneously sees himself from two sides and thus gets in the middle.”
Once in the middle of who you think you are and who you actually are, you can better navigate through the shadow. By becoming aware of your own shadow aspects, you begin to choose how you respond to situations rather than reacting from a deep unconscious part of yourself.
Why the Shadow Self is critical to understanding yourself.
You have to go through the process to see the shadow and the light correctly. Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness. You cannot understand yourself if you cannot see both sides of who you are. You have to fully understand what is going on. And from there, you can decide what you are going to transform. But in order to transform, there is a part of you that needs to die or that you need to let go of.
To explore your shadow aspect, you must first be willing to see it. And then you must love and accept all your shadow self. This is how you can find true freedom and transformation.
Understand yourself by seeing both sides of YOU.
We are afraid to quantify things because once we quantify them, we can no longer run from them; we have to decide. If you feel anxiety, you’re living in yesterday. If you feel fear, you’re living in tomorrow. The only way you can find peace is in this moment right now.
You can’t hurry up and slow down at the same time. As you work to find your shadow self, you have to figure out the right pace and strategy. Everything is a trade. You have to figure out what you’re trading. Repetition has power; the more you look in the middle of who you are, the more you will see.
