What is more important: To be oneself or to know oneself?

Answer 1

Do you think they are different? How can you know yourself if you are not yourself? And vice versa -- how can you be yourself if you don't know who you are? To be thyself and to know thyself are not two separate things, hence the question of choice does not arise. They are two aspects of a single process.

You have to work on both together simultaneously; neither can be neglected. But it is easier to start from being thyself; easier, because you have been distracted from yourself by others. The masks that you are carrying are not your own imposition. Unwillingly, reluctantly, you have been forced to be someone other than you are; hence it is easier to throw it off.

Slavery of any kind is easier to get rid of, because intrinsically who wants to be a slave? That is not in the nature of any being, human or not human. Slavery is against existence; hence it is easier to throw it off. It always remains a burden, and deep down you continue to fight with it, even though on the surface you follow it; deep down nobody can make you accept it. At the innermost core of your being it remains rejected forever; hence it is easier to throw it off. The process is simple. Whatever you are doing, whatever you are thinking, whatever you are deciding, remember one thing: is it coming from you or is somebody else speaking? And you will be surprised to find out the real voice; perhaps it is your mother -- you will hear her speak again.

Perhaps it is your father; it is not at all difficult to detect. It remains there, recorded in you exactly as it was given to you for the first time -- the advice, the order, the discipline, the commandment.

You may find many people: the priest, the teachers, the friends, the neighbors, the relatives. There is no need to fight. Just knowing that it is not your voice but somebody else's -- whosoever that somebody else is -- you know that you are not going to follow it. Whatsoever the consequences, good or bad, now you are deciding to move on your own, you are deciding to be mature. Enough you have remained a child. Enough you have remained dependent. Enough you have listened to all these voices and followed them. And where have they brought you? In a mess.

Answer 2

Life is about growth. Spiritual, emotional and physical growth. Each avenue will involve change in who you are and will take time to get use to. A lot of time we think we know more about ourselves than we really do. In reality its not easy to see the real self that is why its important to have people in your life to help you along the way. People who you trust and trust you, people you can listen to without judging and will listen to you without judgment. Ever heard the expression you can not see the forest for the trees? If not than you have now. It simply means whenever we begin to think about something we begin with our own assumptions, which are fundamentally everything we take for granted. Sometimes we really do not know what we think we know. Just be you (one self) and everything else will follow suit.

Answer 3

To be oneself IS to know oneself!

Answer 4

To be oneself presupposes that you know yourself. To be something is to practice at it. As you practice you discover yourself; then you can be all you can be. This is good advice from Aristotle.

Answer 5

TO KNOW ONESELF IS MORE IMPORTANT BECAUSE BY THAT ONLY WE CAN UNDERSTAND OUR MISTAKES AND OUR STRONG POINTS AND TRY TO SRITVR\E FOR IT AND U JUST TRY THIS

Answer 6

i would say if you know yourself, you will be yourself, atleast the majority of the time. There are always times in life, whether work or family, that we have to adjust ourselfs , what we show/act like on the outside, but we know we are doing it. Ourselfs have chosen to adjust, so we are being ourselfs

Answer 7

To be yourself, because action speaks louder than words and no matter what you think you are, you will never know until you actually do something...and since whatever you do can be nothing other than who you are, it is always being yourself.

Answer 8

if you truly know oneself, you automatically become oneself

Answer 9

Thats a tough question. I guess i'd say you have to know yourself to be yourself, because if you didn't know yourself you'd just easily become a copy.
I suppose you have to be both, so they are of equal importance.

Answer 10

Hmmm. It seems to me that one would go hand in hand with the other therefore demanding equal importance.