Knowing yourself is crucial to the quality of your life, as it prevents ambiguity in your choices, and disappointments in your expectations. For example, when it comes to choosing a date, some people may say they want ‘an independent-thinking, self-directed partner, who is successful in his own career’. In reality, they want someone who will take care of them or be the parent they never had. After all, when we love someone, we do not tie that love to the size of their wallet, or expect financial contribution as a condition of our love, precisely because material things can disappear in an instant, as unexpected natural disasters have starkly demonstrated.

We often deceive ourselves, as well as others, in painting that false personal image but, while we can deceive ourselves forever, we can only deceive some of the people some of the time. All too soon, we get found out, and most likely when we least expect it. Just be yourself, warts and all. Being yourself is usually the most attractive part of you! You simply emphasise that uniqueness.

The person for you will be the one who accepts you fully. The minute someone new starts to tell you how you should dress, for example, it is a short step from dictating your life in other ways, making you over into their ideal, not accepting you as you are. If you know who you are, you will wish to be that person, not a caricature of someone else’s dream.

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