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[deleted] t1_iw9ghup wrote

alternatively: you can CREATE who you want to be rather than finding or remembering.

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Celestial-Whimsy t1_iwawc0p wrote

I was just going to say this. Not everyone has a super clear past “self”. Especially if you look at people with insecure homes as small children or who were abused as children. When you start your life in survival mode there isn’t a whole lot of room to flourish.

The traits that you’d want to have, the things you’d want to do if you had all the money or time in the world, the things that you kind of are interested in but know nothing about, hobbies you have no natural talent for, etc are all good places to start.

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YouSummonedAStrawman t1_iwbjzpf wrote

Also this seems to point that all external influences are wrong or bad and you need to get rid of them to fin your real self.

I had a great childhood and had parents and faith that prepared me for the world ahead. Many of my influences and the world I dealt with were positive in shaping who I am, not some negative that I need to reboot from childhood.

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[deleted] t1_iwd3w9s wrote

this is very true! while i do think the intended audience is those with a rocky upbringing in one way or another, you’re correct that not all “conditioning” and beliefs that you are raised with are bad & in fact some people live their best lives by those things

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The76thTrombone t1_iw9rwov wrote

This is simply trading one false/incomplete conception of one's self for another.

The first suggests that your future self is the most "real" you - You are incomplete, there are pieces of you missing. You will be at your most pure when you find those pieces in the world and it all falls into place.

The second suggests that your past self is the most "real" you - You are broken, things have happened in the past that harmed you. You will be at your most pure when you've shed your past and returned to your unbroken self.

While both observe a problem in the human condition, both are an incomplete picture, and when each is taken on its own, it can lead people down the paths of either aimless wandering or static self-diagnosis.

You are your most "real" self right now. You are incomplete. You are broken. Always have been. Always will be. What will you do with that?

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cyan_violet t1_iwd98f1 wrote

This is more motivating than the majority of inspirational quotes.

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Lifeiscleanair t1_iwdbuiw wrote

Not only that, there is no "self". Look for who is looking and you will just find consciousness and space.

To say you are real one minute and not the next is to say that the weather didn't change your mood today, or the events that we have no control over didn't constantly shape and mould us.

Liberation comes from the truth, and the truth is we are not the Captain of the boat but rather the stream itself.

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Goowatchi t1_iw9b5z7 wrote

TLDR - misconstrued semantics (“finding”) leads to useless advice.

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[deleted] t1_iw9gfrm wrote

hahahah. true. but it may help at least one person out there.

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CraazzyCatCommander t1_iwak808 wrote

The problem with this is that every human on earth is a combination of environmental and genetic influences. There simply is no you without an environment for you to exist in.

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HelloS0n t1_iw9vujn wrote

Looks like a Chipotle cup.

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Teni96 t1_iw9r82o wrote

I love this.

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Putrumpador t1_iwa4jj8 wrote

Find yourself, create yourself, potato potato.

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Rulln t1_iwba8m5 wrote

This post is very beautiful in its explaining of the inner child. Returning to who you are. I like it very much

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thisOneGirlOnline t1_iw9rcys wrote

This is such an amazing true quote. I have to remember who I was in the first place. Before all of this cultural conditioning. :)

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JCPRuckus t1_iwbj0pg wrote

You were an infant who didn't know anything and couldn't physically take care of or economically support yourself before "all of the cultural conditioning". This quote is pop psychology nonsense. You are your experiences, and how those experiences interact with your genetic predispositions towards certain personality traits. There is no more authentic past self to find, because every experience you have is part of the authentic you who exists right now.

The best you can hope for is to find a you that you can better live with, whether that involves unlearning something or learning a whole new set of things will vary from person to person. And that's a process that we're all going through all of the time anyway. All you can do is be mindful of process so that you can actively move towards things that seem to help you do that and away from things that don't.

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