Finding Yourself vs. Creating Yourself

I found this very interesting text image on the internet today that says “Life is not about Finding Yourself. It is about CREATING Yourself.” And it struck me. It struck me hard.

Lately, I have been advising some friends who were left by their partner, because the partner was asking for “space” or “time alone”, to “fix themselves”, “yadah…yadah…” I advised these friends of mine to let their partner be for a while, because they are just trying to “find themselves” or what others call “soul-searching”. (photo source)

One retort I got was, “Why? Is it hard to look in a mirror?” At the time, I let the sarcastic remark pass without giving it so much thought. But when I found this text image, I totally flipped. My friend was actually right. Does one really need finding his or her self in the first place? Or maybe there is really no self to be found because you have not created one yet…

I still agree that people sometimes need “time alone” to think and re-think things in their lives. But I guess the error lies in trying to find something that is not really there yet. Maybe the best and most basic questions to search answers for are, “What do I really want?” and “What do I really want to be?” And if you could answer those questions honestly and truthfully, then you could start “creating” yourself. Or you can say, “Reinventing” yourself. Instead of getting lost in the search for something you may never find because it doesn’t exist at all. You see, physical existence does not necessarily equate to being alive.