Benjamin Franklin said: “There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.” Do you think you know yourself well?

Over the last few years, I think I have understood myself much more than in the past. As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t really know what it meant to be introverted or why being around people seemed to suck the life out of me.
It’s also taken a lot of introspective to know what motivates me and why. The why is always tricky. I know that some dogs scare me a little but I’m not sure why. ( Yesterday, I was almost in tears when my neighbor’s mean bastard dog was out when I took the kid to the bus stop. I’m sure the whole neighborhood heard me telling that dog to go home. And it kept barking and growling. Or maybe I was the one growling, I’m not sure anymore.)
So I think knowing oneself can be difficult. While the core of me will be the same, I’m a work in progress. How long do diamonds take to form? They form under really specific conditions – high temperatures and high pressure. Apparently, they sit around until someone discovers them. They are honestly, diamonds in the rough like many of us – just waiting until someone notices how wonderful and shiny we are.

Links to other lovely diamonds:

http://therainseason.com/2014/03/20/steel-and-a-diamond/
http://therecoveringpessimist.me/2014/03/20/know-your-self/