Why it’s important to ask “Who am I?”

Who am I? Hi, I’m Julia, otherwise known as The Simplicity Strategist. I’m a beach-obsessed, plant-hoarding coach, striving for clarity and calm at the centre of everything I do. But that’s actually not exactly what I’m here to talk about today… I’ve had an interesting few weeks of personal discovery and I thought I’d share in the hope that it might help you (if you do want to read more about me though, head here).

Who am I?

Big news… I’m an introvert. Well, it was big news to me anyway! I actually feel a bit emotional writing this! I feel like I’ve reached a new peak of understanding myself. And it’s actually a bit of a relief, if I’m honest! I believe strongly that knowing ourselves and who we are is one of the keys to a simpler and easier life, so new discoveries about me really excite me. Probably for this reason, I LOVE a personality quiz!

In my first proper job, I did the Myers-Briggs analysis and was told I was an extrovert. At this stage of life I was working in London and coming around to the fact that I should focus on my career because “that’s what success in your 20s looks like”. Looking back, I probably answered the personality test questions based on what I thought someone in my position as a manager should look like and based on the sociable, confident person I was trying to be… so for the next decade or more I’ve kept the extrovert label.

 

Julia Davies, aka The Simplicity Strategist, reads a book in her botanic geometric living room

 

Because there are people close to me who are far more introverted, I had just accepted the extrovert label. Until now! A few weeks ago I did the test again and came out as an introvert (INFJ in case you’re interested!). Now knowing that I’m an introvert, and realising that you can be both sociable and confident as an introvert, I feel I’ve reached a new level of understanding of myself – both me now and past me. All the personal development that’s happened since I became a coach has helped me to unearth and accept the real me, as cheesy as it sounds!

Who are you?

How well do you know yourself? If you’re asking “Who am I?”, keep asking until you’ve really dug deep and found the real you under all those layers of shoulds and expectations and guilt and people-pleasing and desire to fit in and all of those other things that have made you change who you really are. The more you can get to know yourself, who you are and what you want your life to look like, the easier it becomes to make decisions, the quieter that chatterbox in your head becomes, and the less chaotic life can be. You’ll be able to manage difficult situations with a cool head and be able to ask for the precise support that you need, when you need it.

Have you made any new discoveries about yourself recently? I’d love to hear whether you’ve made any changes to your daily life based on these changes.

 

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