No man is an island ... but the island that maketh the continent

No man is an island ... I came across this line while watching "About a boy" - one of the English movies that I relished watching. The quote is attribute to John Donne, a poet from the Renaissance period. (While reading the imdb.org review of the movie, I came to know that the movie is based on Nick Hornby's novel by the same name. I have made a mental note to add the book to my reading list) This quote forced me to think about another quote that I hold close to my heart, and which has oft made me think so deep that it hurts - "Know thy self" (wikipedia entry) Why the former makes me think of the latter is because the duo suggest that I cannot know myself without knowing those that effect my life, my self, my soul. But isn't it confusing that to know yourself you have to know others? I think we are all guilty of having a lazy attitude (if not a blind-eye) to our own fallacies of character. And thus, I do look for some assessment of myself from those I know. But then again, one cannot/should not take every advice they get - you have to take it with a pinch of salt. And this is where I like to say - "Know thy friends". But the more important point I want us to focus on is to "Know thy self". This one quote is about :

• self-knowledge,
• self-assessment and,
• most importantly - self-love.

Self-knowledge It about knowing my strengths, my weaknesses, how do I react in different situations? , how do I behave with different people? ,why do I do what I do? ,what do I like/dislike? , who do I like/dislike? What are my goals in life? These are the questions that I feel hold the key to what I am and what I want to be. Self-assessment This is about measuring how close I am to what I want to achieve in my life. (From the little experience in life I have, I realize that to get the max out of my life I need to keep some of those short term, medium term and long term goals). I have to assess my self continously and keep checking whether I am on the right track or not. Self-love For any person to have a pleasing/confident personality I think this is the most important thing one should do. Unfortunately, I really don't know much about this thing myself - at least at current, but I keep reading stuff about it. Know thy self - I better get started.