Self-Discovery Is an Effortful Process

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Self-discovery is an extremely taxing process that many people skip because they think it should feel pleasant every step of the way.

That’s like going to the gym and thinking you should feel strong every step of the way. Or studying and thinking you should feel smart every step of the way, or building wealth and thinking you should feel wealthy every step of the way.

It’s just not how things work. The exercises that develop your strength make you feel weak. The studying that develops your knowledge does not make you feel like a genius. The saving/investing that develops your wealth makes you feel like you can’t afford too lavish a lifestyle.

The way you discover what you’re good at and what you love is by working your ass off at various challenges until the signal emerges from the noise. This is highly effortful, and – especially at the beginning – you will spend lots of time working at things you may feel are not “you”. Sometimes they will become “you” and other times they won’t.

There is no way to bypass this process. You cannot skip the self-questioning, the self-confusion, and self-discover your self-knowledge. The only way to acquire it faster is to lean into the process and iterate faster.

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