A commnent on Dave's post here. This may sound really simple (who I am, what makes ME happy). It is anything but. Not because these are mind benders or anything, but I bet very few have taken the time to do this.
My shrink did the same thing to me, though not in the same way it happened with Dave. The thing that bothered me most was I couldn't answer the questions!!! Not because I lack the ability, but because I had never, ever taken the time to figure this out. I guess I just always floated down the river and went where life took me, tried to make the best of it. Who am I? What do I like? What do I not like?
So I started figuring it out. Folks, this may sound simplistic, but it is shocking to find out just how much you don't know about yourself. Now, I have an opinion on darn near everything (shocking, I know, but true), but I was really, utterly floored when I realized I had next to no opinions about myself in terms of what **I** liked independent of family, friends and colleagues.
And this goes for EVERYTHING. Do I like the toliet paper roll to go over the top, or come from the bottom? Does the lid being up really bother ME? Do **I** really like broccoli, or do I eat it because I always have?
Do I do x, y, z because I LIKE to do it, or because I think I SHOULD like it? Do I do things because I want to do them, or because I don't want to feel guilty about NOT doing them? Why do I feel guilty? Is that how I want to feel, or is that connected with some past memory/situation that is still influencing me?
And even when I came across mundane things (I prefer the toliet paper going over the top), just stating to myself that it was MY preference and I acknowledged it and owned it, did I gradually find the peace of which Dave speaks.
