Sense of self

Why do we have friends? It seems like somewhere inside all of us, we long for company. We long for acceptance in the setting of a community. However, sometimes we isolate ourselves. More than often, it’s not even on purpose. We mask it behind excuses. I know I do. We turn down people’s company because we’re too busy. We turn people down because we view the world differently. We even turn down invitations because people annoy us.

When we spend an inordinate amount of time alone, we lose sight of who we are. Our self-identity becomes distorted. This is because when we are sequestered, we have nothing by which to measure ourselves. We can only truly grasp the essence of our personality when we contextualize it with other people’s personalities. Seeing strengths in others help us realize our personal weaknesses - and it works both ways.

It’s not that we are to conform to those we are associated with or try to impress those in our “circle.” But in order to grow, it’s imperative to have strong people in your life to help you along. They see things in your life that you might miss. When we can clearly identify our own strengths, we are better suited to use those strengths to enhance our lives and the lives of others.

Most importantly, spending time with others, and learning our strengths pleases our creator. He gave each of us a special uniqueness. It’s good to learn about yourself, because you are God's creation! It doesn’t mean you’re self-absorbed, it only means you want to be self-aware - in order to better serve God and those around you. 

The only way to tap into your uniqueness is to learn about yourself. The only way to do THAT, is to stop looking inward and start focusing more on those around you.