Qnothi Seautom – Know Thyself

May 9, 2016 — Leave a comment

Like a light house casting its beam into the dark foggy night to guide sailors to port or away from danger. Knowing ourselves helps us locate who we truly are, helps us better react to danger, and why we’ve been allowed to explore this sea called life.

The saying Qnothi Seautom was located above the Oracle of Deplhi in ancient Greece was studied by the great philosopher Socrates, who was eventually put to death due to the Oracle of Deplhi saying no one was wiser then he was. At first Socrates disagreed because he knew that he possessed no wisdom. He talked to other men who were considered wise but concluded that while each man thought he knew a great deal and was wise, in fact they knew very little and were not wise at all. While these wise men thought themselves wise but weren’t, Socrates himself knew he was not wise at all, which made him the wiser since he was aware of his own ignorance. Unfortunately for Socrates the wise men of Athens that he questioned became offended and found him guilty of corrupting the youth’s minds and for not believing in the gods of the state. His death sentence was to drink a mixture containing the poison hemlock.

That’s why we need to pay attention to not only the words we say but also the tone of our voice, and most importantly, what our body language is communicating. If you don’t understand how your tone of voice and body gestures are interpreted by others, you may be offending people without even knowing it. Then we wonder why people are rude to us, or charge us with corrupting the youth’s minds.

Our awareness increases when we get to know who we are and how our actions affect other people. This is also the foundation for emotional intelligence, knowing how our emotions affect other people’s emotions.

If we struggle to live or get along with others, is it because we struggle to get along with ourselves? And if we get to really know who we are, are we more likely to like that person you call, ME?

In order to lead others effectively we need to lead ourselves effectively FIRST.

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