SELF

 Self

This is a very controversial topic, as many people have their definitions and their own opinions about the concept of self. However, let's try to figure something out by ourselves. Take a minute, think about it. What is self? 

I'd say, self is the unique identity or nature of a person which is not influenced by the world out there. According to my definition, self is who a person is. His real nature when he finds himself in the company of himself. This might sound a little bizarre but that's it. In most cases, you're not yourself in the company of others, you're what the circumstances make you. That's my definition of self. What is yours?

Let's delve deeper into what the concept of self is all about. 

Self is basically seeing yourself in the reflection of your mind. Who are you? What are you made of? What can you do? What's unique about you? 

More often than not, we have countless people living other people. They are not themselves. We find people into courses, jobs, organisations, activities that do not reflect them. They see what people do and follow suit. They don't spend time to know who they are on the inside, outside the world, which I'll like to call the "fantasy world". The world only becomes real when you are yourself in the world. 

This is more dangerous than it may seem to you. Let me show you. Imagine we have a teacher or parent who's supposed to be a "soldier". By soldier, I'm trying to model an authoritative figure, with a lot of ego, charisma and brawn that devours anything which does not behave how he wants it to. This person will programme "robot humans" who only say yes sir to what they are told. You dare not disobey such a teacher, not even when he's wrong. Students under such training or parenting will end up becoming what they are made to become. The wrong hand and frustration in the people who raised them can be traced in their lives. They are always about, living someone else's life. 

Sadly, we have many of such people around, in our schools, homes, churches, work places, among others. Biological robots who have been programmed for life. People in wrong courses and jobs. We have many students in courses they know nothing about and have no interest in. And guess what, they cannot live up to standard. In most cases, they fail, give up and at worse, some commit suicide. Some of them end up there because they see successful people there. Others, because their parents coax them into it. And others because, they simply have no choice. 

In Ghana, for instance, you are very limited in terms of fields to venture into. There is almost no other choice but to go with what is available. Gross poverty comes to play here. Also, greed and no interest in progress on the path of the leaders comes to play. (By this, I mean, the leaders know that there are many fields to invest into but they simply don't do it). Away from Ghana, the world seems to have a system that controls the way things are done and the fashion in which events unfold. If you find yourself outside the trend, you're seen as a failure. This strong influence is destroying many potentials and skills. This is why I call it the fantasy world. Until you find yourself, you're just living like a ghost, tossed and controlled by the force of the world. Everything seems to be moving so fast. The irony here is that it doesn't matter how fast you go, if you're moving in the wrong direction, you will get nowhere quickly. You may achieve something, but nothing close to what your true potentials can produce. In most cases, such people are raised by people who have been frustrated in life for not being able to discover themselves. As a result a culture of "biological robotism" continues and a generation of lost identities is created. 

Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” This is a true reflection of what we see everyday. People being judged by what they cannot do, ideally. How did they get there in the first place? Even many leaders of nations fall within this category. Some people are just not fit ins for the office they occupy. In worse cases, these people feel stupid and less confident. They don't have to show it, but they know it. After all, they are living false lives, so why show their true impression about themselves. 

The discussion on self can go on and on and on, but if nothing is done, the status quo remains. The issue about people walking around with false identities is a global issue. It didn't start today and it can't be stopped overnight. Let me state that, identifying yourself and knowing who you truly are is one key to transforming our societies. A person who has really discovered himself is an asset that can produce amazing results. The problem with self identity is that, there is a hurdle which holds people back. An opposition, which I'll like to call "the villain". In my next piece, I'll talk about the villain and how to deal with such resistance and then I'll talk about discovering your true self. 

Thank you for reading to this far. Kindly share with others if you enjoyed this piece. Also do well to leave your comments in the comments section and don't hesitate to contact me for further discussions. 

Written by: Isaac Game A. Mawulorm

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