Does anyone else hear ‘Who’ in their head when reading that title?

“Oh! that you could turn your eyes towards the napes of your necks, and make but an interior survey of your good selves.”   -William Shakespeare, “Coriolanus”

I have to admit that truly trying to know myself is very difficult, and not something I enjoy at all. In times of self discovery I am tempted to focus mainly on my faults and shortcomings rather than my gifts and talents. Focus on our faults is essential to overcoming them, but we must not exclude the gifts which God has chosen to bestow on us in order that we may grow them and use them in a manner that gives glory to Almighty God.

Before we can ever truly accept and love another person, we must first understand ourselves and our own personalities. As an example, my primary fault is passion. I tend towards extremes of emotion. When excited I am fun and gregarious and contagious to other people. When angry everyone within reach or shouting distance had better watch out! Knowing this is beneficial, particularly in my relationship with Papasully. Papsully is not nearly as volatile as I am, and is a stabilizing factor in my life. Also, before marriage I was able to talk about the issues this fault in me causes in my life and make sure that he could handle that sort of wife. Fortunately Papasully has a forceful personality and has no problem telling me when I am out of line and stopping me from looking before I leap!

Knowing myself is an area that I need to spend more time on.  I believe this is a life-long process, as we change and learn and grow.  The person I am today is different that when I was a newlywed and different than I will be when the children leave home.  Please give me your recommendations on resources.

My favorite books for getting to know yourself (and your loved ones) are “The Four Temperaments” by Fr. Conrad Hock and “The Five Love Languages” by Dr. Gary Chapman.

“O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.” -St. Augustine