When I discover who I am, I’ll be free – Ralph Ellison

When I discover who I am: In today’s quote, we analyse the beautiful one by Ralph Ellison – When I discover who I am, I’ll be free. This quote analysis focuses on defining who you are – identifying your core values and discovering yourself. Not long ago, we talked about – The biggest challenge in life is to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you like everyone else. The central theme of the quote talks about how difficult it is to be yourself and the necessity to fight for it.

Meaning: When I discover who I am, I’ll be free

To analyse the meaning of this quote, you need to look within to understand who you are. Most times, we are conditioned to ask either our friends or family who we are. But this is a question for yourself.

Who are you as a person? And what values does this person represent or would protect? These questions are extremely powerful to identify the most important things for you. The definition of you as a person is led by your thoughts and what you allow in your life. Society or your family has little to do with it. While discovering your inner thoughts, key points to remember are:

• Freedom is internal. No one can define what free means to you. Only you hold the final decision
• Identifying who you are – the values you stand for. It starts with creating a vision for yourself.
• This process also involves knowing you are not. It prevents you from copying and blindly being like someone else. It also gives you the strength of staying true to your values.

Allowing yourself to feel who you are

The first step to discovering yourself is in allowing yourself to feel who you are. This includes identifying your strengths, vulnerability and values. Keep all judgements aside and just honestly feel who you are. Embrace every fibre of that thought.

Discover how that makes you feel. If you catch yourself judging – snap out of it. Don’t fall into the trap of just following everyone or everything around. There is no ideal definition of who you should be. This is something which you should create for yourself. If anyone else is getting involved – no matter how close they are – keep them away. This space is internal and just about identifying who you are. You may decide later to share this with someone depending on how you feel.

Living up to your definition and values

Once you identify who you are and discover everything that makes you – the next step is about protecting these values. Self-discovery is a continuous process. So, don’t be surprised if you keep discovering new things about yourself. Add every discovery to your mental register.

Once you know what your thoughts and values are – start thinking – Do these values help me? If there are limiting values, you can create a strategy on how to address them. But these decisions are ultimately yours and yours alone. No one else can have a say in that or else you end up sacrificing your individuality to something else.

You will meet resistance and people will try to change you. This exercise of being yourself demands self-confidence. If you are finding it difficult, there are ways to build self-confidence. It can be a nice continuous process to identify and value what you truly stand for.

Summary and conclusion: When I discover who I am, I’ll be free

The heart of this quote – when I discover who I am – is in understanding and feeling yourself. Don’t be hard on yourself. Instead, just listen and keep listening. Your thoughts and values are your most beautiful companions. The least you can do is listen to them without any judgement.

Key points to remember before concluding this post are:

• Discovering yourself is a continuous process
• Protecting and nurturing the feeling of who you are
• Not allowing society to override your definitions of yourself

When I discover who I am, I’ll be free

– Ralph Ellison

Reference: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7508.Ralph_Ellison