6 useful and easy to apply self-knowledge activities.

Some recommended self-knowledge activities that are easy to put into practice.

Introspection is a complicated action to do. No matter how hard we try, we will always have the doubt of not being sure if we really know ourselves or if we still have a biased image of ourselves.

One of the best ways to get to know oneself is to resort to self-knowledge activities done with other people.. It may seem ironic to do introspection in company, but the truth is that if we know how others see us we can have a truer picture and more realistic self-demands about ourselves.

Here we are going to see a few of these activities, all of them done in a group but that certainly serve to know ourselves better as individuals.

Recommended self-knowledge activities

We can consider as self-knowledge activities all those exercises that serve to make an introspection and, at the same time, help us to improve the image we have of ourselves. These activities allow us to improve our self-concept, to delimit it in a realistic way and to see that, although we have our weaknesses, we also have certain strengths and that nobody is perfect.

These types of exercises have in themselves a therapeutic component.By identifying our characteristics and understanding that others also have their weaknesses, we can reduce surrealistic expectations and self-demands that are impossible to meet. In addition, in the course of these activities we share, express and discuss the characteristics that we believe we have and the characteristics that others see in us, seeing that in many occasions the idea that we have of ourselves is more negative than the one that others have.

The activities of self-knowledge that we are going to see next are all carried out in groups. The reason for this is that in order to have a good self-knowledge of ourselves it is necessary on many occasions to know how others see us, and although they may have their opinions and a biased image of how we really are, the sharing of their point of view with our own can help us to readjust our self-concept and reduce expectations, as we have already mentioned.

1. The emotional graph

To carry out this activity we are going to need gridded sheets of paper and markers of different colors. On one of these sheets we will make a graph, whose Y-axis will be the intensity of our emotions (e.g., from 1 to 10) and the X-axis will represent the passage of time (e.g., over the course of the week). The idea is to represent each emotion with a color and plot it on the graph according to the perceived intensity over time, either on the same day or over the course of a week.The idea is to represent each emotion with a color and plot it on the graph according to the perceived intensity over time, either on the same day or over the course of the week, and at which moments we feel better and at which moments we feel worse.

Although one might think that mood changes can be represented in a dichotomous way, in terms of joy-sadness, this graph allows us to do it in a multidimensional way. In addition to the same dimension, we can add other lines such as fun/busy-boredom/unbusy and calm/apathy-nervousness.

There may be times when we feel cheerful but are also bored, while at other times we may be sad but busy or apathetic. Mood swings can be of many types, and the lines on the graph will allow us to see these ups and downs by taking a time perspective and relating it to what everyday things make us feel this way.

2. Knowing what we want

We will give the participants sheets of paper on which they will have written the beginnings of several sentences and their task is to complete as quickly as possible with what comes to mind but in relation to their feelings, desires and volitions.. The idea is that, although they should not think too much about it or break their heads, they should always answer by referring to themselves.

Some examples of sentences to complete:

• I want...
• I need...
• I hope...
• I can't...
• Soon...
• In my work/class...
• I am afraid...
• I like it...
• I...
• Dream...

Once they have answered the questions, we will have the participants meet freely in groups, that is, allowing them to share with those friends or people with whom they get along better.. Each of these groups will have a person in charge who will have to summarize the opinions of everyone in those questions that the facilitator has indicated that should be put together to avoid the exercise being too long, especially those in which he/she believes that there will be more coincidences.

Once all the groups have summarized their answers, the general sharing will take place, with the person in charge of each group speaking as the spokesperson. It is at this stage that it can be seen that there are more coincidences than discrepancies.This will help participants to feel normal, to see that everyone has similar insecurities and fears and, in case they do not share them, what is certain is that everyone has something that causes them uncertainty.

3. The echo

The class is divided into groups of 5 or 6 participants, all of them having paper and pencil to be able to write. We are going to ask them to be sincere with their group and to accept the other opinions that their classmates are going to make.

We begin by allowing enough time for each participant to write down the names of the members of his or her group on a sheet of paper and, next to each name, write down how he or she thinks the group is doing. next to each name they should write how they think each of their group members is..

Once the group has finished, each of its members will start by saying the opinion about himself and wish out loud, for example:

"I think I am shy but determined in the end."

Once he/she has said this about him/herself, the other participants will respond by telling him/her what they think of him/her. The person who receives these answers will write down what the other participants say about him or her, to record what has been said about him or her. In this way This is how each group will act internally, commenting on what the participants think of their peers and of themselves..

At the end, everything will be put in common, commenting not what they have said about their peers but how they have seen that the opinions and visions that others have of themselves correspond to themselves, if they are more negative or positive than expected. This exercise serves to contrast one's own image with what others see of oneself, although one must be careful and make sure that the exercise is to be done in a group where there are no bad dynamics or harassment.

4. The tree of times

In this self-knowledge exercise each participant is given a sheet of paper and should be allowed to freely use pencil, colors, brushes and any drawing objects.

Each one should make a tree that represents his or her life.A tree of times that will contain the following parts: our past, represented in its roots and the beginning of the trunk; the present, represented in the trunk and the main branches; and the future, represented in smaller branches, leaves, fruits, flowers...

Once everyone has made their tree, they will share what they have done. It can also be suggested that those who wish to do so, leave it displayed in a visible place in the classroom so that the others are also motivated to hang it up or, at least, can see the usefulness of this type of activity.

This exercise is ideal not only to get to know oneself, but also to see what others think of how their own lives have been going.and if you have a very high or otherwise unambitious life expectancy.

5. The circle

This exercise consists of drawing a circle that participants The participants will fill in like a pie chart, making each sector indicated represent something that occupies a certain space in their heart, mind or will.. Among these significant aspects that can be represented are family, friends, studies, work, hobbies...

In the sharing, the participants will comment on why they have made their graphs in this way, indicating the importance of the theme or aspect that they have decided to represent with the highest percentage.

6. The movie of my life

Each participant is given several rectangles of tracing paper (between 4 and 8), the size of a slide. To carry out this exercise, it will also be necessary to have colored markers of various thicknesses, giving those involved total freedom to draw important scenes from their lives that they will later have to present to their classmates as if it were a slide presentation.

The objective of this exercise is not to explain the image, since it will already be projected, but for the participant to explain what he/she felt in that situation, detailing his or her feelings, desires and attitudes summarized in a descriptive phrase. The presentation can be accompanied by background music that goes along with the feelings that the participant is trying to explain. You can also try to give more emphasis to the exposition by means of dialogues and onomatopoeias.