Know Thyself

Know Thyself

Gnōthi seauton, the Greek meaning of the words "Know thyself", when you first hear these words do you immediately think it means to examine yourself? Well it's a little bit more in depth than that. It means to test yourself and learn your personal strengths and what you are good at in life, but also learning and acknowledging your weaknesses and short comings. When I was first asked to rank myself using words, immediately I began a reflected appraisal process and looked back at what I believed others thought of me. That is what I believed shaped most of my list. Even though a reflected appraisal may have shaped my rankings of myself, my self-aspect developed and I gained insight on my character and demeanor that I reflect on others. Because I have a new opinion on my character and behavior, my opinion changed not only solely based off of what others think of me but by examining me and my opinions.

I was very surprised from the information from my ranking compared to the rankings of others. Surprisingly I didn't know others felt those intangibles in me, although looking back on my list I do see some similarities in what mood I may have reflected on others. This person showed me that they see characteristics in me that I didn't think I always showed. Overall my rankings met all my expectations for the most part. One item from my list that I believe I developed because of reflected appraisal would be "silly". This reflected appraisal I believe came from the thought of what my friends and family might think of me the most. In the past I remembered my friends telling me I was "silly". This usually would come from a close friend or family member, so I thought it to be important. The item from my list that I believed developed from social comparison was the term "confident". Playing football, looking back we would break a huddle and we would say "play