The need for self-expression

There's this Bruce Lee quote that I really love that says:

"All types of knowledge ultimately mean self-knowledge."

For a while, I never truly understood what this quote meant. But as time went on, this simple and unassuming sentence has crept up its way from the back of my mind and become one of my favorite sayings ever.

It's the idea that it is through the actual pursuit of something external that we are able to better know the way of ourselves.

It is very easy for us to theorize what we want and don't want, but it is much different when these theories are tested under pressure. It is that pressure where we're not allowed the extra time to overthink a decision–where we have to rely on our core principles and values.

By putting ourselves deeper in that fire, further layers of ourselves start to come to the surface.

Why this is important

I truly believe purpose and happiness cannot be brainstormed but rather found. When you get to understand yourself more, you get a better sense of the things you need to focus your time and energy towards in order to get you the most fulfillment out of life.

Marco Pierre White put this beautifully by saying:

True success is self-discovery because the day you start to discover yourself, you start to accept yourself. And then you have the opportunity to fall in love for the right reason; to do things for the right reason; to realize your true potential as a human being.