“The unexamined life is not worth living”

“The unexamined life is not worth living”
                                                        - Socrates

It’s a sentiment that I’ve felt strongly about, ever since my first brush with the ancient philosopher in college.

And over the years, I thought I had it pretty sussed.  

But each time I start getting complacent that I’ve pretty much learned all I can about myself, life throws me a curve ball.
I then need to dig deep.
And I find there is more about me I never knew.
And from the process I change and grow.

Like the time in my early 20’s in the middle of my Economics PHD, I realised that the academic life wasn’t for me.
It was a really soul-destroying period.   
I had to restart my life from scratch and found that a life creating businesses was more who I am.

Or the time early in my career when I was given my first management role and realised that I was a typical A-type, micromanaging my team and driving them mad with my intensity.
Again, I needed to dig deep and work on myself.

Or more recently, when I was studying coaching at Henley Business School, I discovered the power of working on myself to be a better coach for the next generation of leaders I work with.

But despite being hit over the head again and again with this lesson of continuous search for self-awareness and growth,
when I saw the title of Dr Julia Carden’s new book “You Are Not As Self-Aware As You Think Are”, it hit me.

My gut reaction was
‘Of course I know myself, Julia.
How could I not after all these years and all this work.’
(Julia was my teacher and supervisor at Henley)

But yesterday I had a couple of long flights ahead, so I read Julia’s excellent book and it reminded me again that knowing yourself and personal growth really never end.

And after my initial defensiveness faded, I realised that’s actually good news.

It means that no matter where you are in your life or career, there’s always something new to discover - a blind spot to uncover, an assumption to challenge, a new strength to develop.

That thought energises me. Maybe I’m just a restless soul, but Julia’s book is a welcome reminder that there’s always more to learn about who we are.
It’s good for the self, good for the people we live and work with and good for our businesses.

It’s also central to my coaching work.

When I work with senior leaders, I often ask questions like:

·       What part of yourself have you outgrown, but haven’t yet let go of?

·       What’s the belief about yourself that used to serve you, but might now be holding you back?

·       And if you met yourself five years from now, what would they thank you for having learned?

The leaders who keep growing aren’t the ones who think they’ve “arrived.”
They’re the ones willing to stay curious, even (and especially) about themselves.