Saying, Long Attributed to Multiple

¶ … saying, long attributed to multiple Greek sages, helps to define and strengthen an individual's persona. Though many may find themselves at a crossroads at some point in their lives, knowing what one wants and what they are able to accomplish may help to inspire and influence the decisions in their lives. One of the benefits of knowing who you are is discovering the multitude of possibilities that are open in the future. By knowing your likes and dislikes, you may begin to culminate a series of profitable interests.

These interests may then be parlayed into developing a hobby or skill, or leads to one to study the field of his or her interest more in depth. These studies can lead to the attainment of multiple degrees and allow them to become experts in their interest's field of study. Another benefit of knowing who you are is the ability to think for yourself on religious, social, and political matters.

By knowing what you believe in, you can make informed decisions that may affect not only you, but also those around you. Many times, people get sucked into voting or believing a certain thing because the majority tells them to believe that. The ability to reason for yourself allows the individual to build up a social, religious, and/or political identity which they can share with others and have thoughtful and knowledgeable discussions about.

For far too long, people have blindly followed ideologies simply because they are told to instead of knowing the background and why they follow them. There have been many historical, literary, and athletic figures that have changed their careers due to injury or choice and the knowledge of who they are and what they were willing to due greatly influenced their next life and career choices. For example, actors such as Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham have parleyed their athletic careers into acting; Gordon Ramsey became a chef.

Actors have also explored alternative career options by knowing who they are and what they believed. Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kal Penn, Al Franken, Sonny Bono, and Fred Thompson have chosen to explore their political interests and have put their entertainment careers on hold in order to do so. It is important to know yourself so that you do not compromise yourself and follow a life or career path with which you are unhappy.

Convention once dictated that women were to have domestic jobs and did not allow them to follow their dreams and aspirations. Women that did follow their dreams were often ostracized and considered to be social outcasts. Women were controlled by social conventions so much so that they had to lobby and demonstrate to gain equal rights, including the right to vote. Standing up for what you believe led to many other social revolutions.

The civil rights movement was a major turning point in American history for which many people sacrificed their lives. The civil rights movement led to the equal treatment of all people and helped to eliminate.