As we are in a society filled with the attraction of abundance, it becomes very hard to decide what you want exactly. The balancing act between what you want and what is good for you creates a daily struggle for all of us.  We all want to be disciplined and achieve our daily goals as well as our life goals.  The trick to achieving these goals — in addition to reading and exploring ways to achieve them — is to know ourselves.  Knowing your strengths and weaknesses creates insight into how to navigate the world.  Most of our inability to know ourselves comes from a lack of experience and knowledge.  Millions of dollars have been invested in developing training courses to allow people to find their passion and their ideal job or work environment — as well as countless books on the subject. Seeking to know yourself is the first step toward discovery. The irony is that by the time we know ourselves, it is almost too late to make critical decisions or changes in our careers and social life without significant risk or possible loss.

This lack of clarity about my future was my problem the day I became 14 years old.  At that age, I had to find out how I could change the world to a better place and have a great life.  I had no knowledge of knowing myself, including the absence of many life tools to find what I wanted — no internet!  I sought answers from my parents and friends.  I listened eagerly to their responses — most were generic: you need to study hard to be a doctor or an engineer, specifically a civil engineer! Life will open its doors if you choose one of these careers!

I am now amazed how my life turned out to be exactly the opposite. Does this mean that I failed?  Does this mean that I changed?  Most likely not.  If you ask all life achievers if they ever dreamed to achieve the specifics of what they are now, all will tell you no, including Warren Buffet in one of his TV interviews.

Still knowing yourself is enigmatic, partially because we change all the time during our lifetime.  Our likes and dislikes fluctuate.  Every time we think we have figured it all out, things change, and we start over from square one.  Self-knowledge is an extremely difficult goal to achieve.

My path to self-discovery took me in different directions.  I stayed away from very destructive behavior (drugs, cigarettes, and overeating).  I figured out that reading would help me discover new trails.  Although I have three university degrees behind my name and several professional certificates and patents, I am still in an endless discovery of myself.  I am always signing up for new classes, growing my knowledge and working hard to enhance my life.  As I am marching forward in my career and personal relations, I am still mapping my growth by taking more classes and workshops.  And, as always, reading!

Thank you for reading my blog.  I would love to hear from you. (Sufalkhaldi@futureandsciencehacks.com)