Personal Development

“Who am I?”

This question looks simple, but it has been a regular topic of humanity for thousands of years. I believe that it isn't an easy thing to speak about yourself as it's hard to have a look at yourself from aside, but who knows you better than you yourself do? Twenty-four centuries after Socrates’ sage advice to “Know thyself”, we are enjoying the excitement of new explorations into human thought and action (1). Knowing yourself is not equally simple as look into the mirror. Some people have the ability to see their strengths and advantages instead of their weaknesses and shortcomings; some people see lots problems of their own, simply couldn’t find their primary issue etc. As the matter of fact, this phenomenon is normal. People need to have an understanding and learning process to get to know themselves as same as to know this objective world. In the meantime, we hear different evaluation and discussion and get influenced by people, which among praise, bless as well as criticized, blame and even discriminate against you in our daily life. Therefore, how could I have the ability to identify what is the real ‘me’ from those kind of statements? How could I choose the right path for my career? And how could I balance the happiness and reality in life?

I, an ordinary person plays multiple roles in life like employee, friend, daughter, wife, etc. However, even for all the roles I’ve been thinking of but there is still a lot I do not know about myself. Since I reached the years of discretion, my family has been “lead” me to the path that I should do something to inhabit in a better future, which is studying hard in order to go to a good college. That is a typical traditional Chinese ideology of education. And so on the occasion of the time to choose a major in college, my family expects I should pick the popular major which could fulfill the social demands and gain better career opportunities for myself regardless of what is my genuine interests. I became a “follower” of my family’s wish and the person that they wanted me to be. I am not reading anything improper around my family’s wish, their intention is correct only the method is wrong. As a matter of course, I found a stable and well compensated opportunity in admin management of a company later on. However, I start losing passion and getting frustrated for what I am doing before long with the same routine and tedious job scope. I realized the current position is a misfit for me and start to consider my career planning which including a good idea of one’s motivations, interests and career/life-stage needs, as well as my strengths and limitations. In order to do that I have to fully understand what is the real “me” and what is my real interest and what am I passion for, I should open my mind to accept who am I without lying to myself. Yet, understanding ourselves is not an abstract concept which will accompany with emotion and self-evaluation. During the process of cognition of oneself, we have to accept who we are. In other words, we shouldn’t repel with the real side of you.

Abraham Maslow essentially made self-fulfillment and happiness a central part of his life’s work. In a break from the other experts of his time, he wanted to understand what motivated the great people of history and to understand human potential; he wanted to know what humans are capable of as their healthiest self. The more we learn about man’s natural tendencies, the easier it will be to tell him how to be good, how to be happy, how to be fruitful, how to respect himself, how to love, how to fulfill his highest potentialities… The thing to do seems to be to find out what one is really like inside; deep down, as a member of the human species and as a particular individual (Maslow, 1987, p. 6).

From Maslow’s theory, self-fulfillment and happiness is above everything in the world. This theory taught me that we are not only “work” but create “joyful” for ourselves at the same time. I am a very confidence, outgoing and creative person. I enjoy communicating with people and have very strong communication and social skill. Besides, I have lots creative ideas and enjoying the changes in my lifespan as well as won’t scare any innovation at workplace. All my characters match well with the core elements of my interests from the report of the Career Leader which is creative production, application of technology and quantitative analysis. What do I like at my best? The answer is I am able to exert my strengths in at work, being recognized and fulfill my highest potentialities. In another word: Let me be me. Fortunately, after I resigned the first job then I had a great opportunity to work in the project management of the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. My company allow me to use my strengths and skill throughout the whole project that makes me feel happy and fulfill myself, which finally I actualize who I am. Abraham Maslow proposed the concept of a hierarchy of needs to be satisfied. The top ‘pier’ of Maslow’s hierarchy is dubbed “self-actualization.” Maslow studied happy people in order to determine what it was that made them happy or, self-actualized (Maslow, 1987, p. 22).What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization…It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. (Maslow, 1954, Motivation and Personality, p. 93)

Self-actualization helps to reach and releasing the personal and career potential which takes a holistic approach that make myself take control of my life and improve self-belief. It identifies one’s motivations, interests and career/life-stage needs, as well as one’s strengths and limitations which helps to see better with the career anchor. Besides, simply challenge, recognition, trust and support also important to provide impetus to the potential. Challenge makes a person stronger by pushing oneself learning and the ability to solve the issues we met at work, yet comfortable is not consider a value anymore. I will take it as the fuel of the ride of my career path; recognition is an effective way to replenish energy-motivation to the employees. When my contribution gets recognized and appreciate, it motivates me to work harder and look forward to the new challenge; Mutual trust is important for all of us, no matter for personal or work, family, friends, leader and employee. As a leader, I will trust and respect my subordinates and provide encouragement and support unconditionally, I believe employees will have higher enthusiasm at work and bring in more benefits in many aspects. Conversely, I will provide the same mutual trust to my