Understanding oneself is as important as saving the world

A leader who does not Understanding oneself often leads their followers down a path of tyranny and destruction. Without self-awareness, the leader becomes a vessel for unresolved fears, insecurities, and unchecked ambitions, projecting these inner conflicts onto the world. This lack of introspection can foster toxic environments, poor decision-making, and a disconnect from the needs and values of those they aim to serve.

The Dual Mission – Knowing Yourself and Saving the World

Psychologists widely agree that understanding oneself is crucial for creating meaningful and positive change in the world. Self-awareness serves as the compass that guides ethical leadership, empathy, and the ability to inspire and empower others. Without this inner clarity, even the best intentions can devolve into chaos and harm.

To become a force for good, it is essential to confront and “slay the dragon within.” This metaphorical dragon represents our deepest fears, biases, and inner turmoil. Only by facing these internal challenges can we transform ourselves into leaders capable of fostering harmony and progress, rather than destruction and division. Understanding oneself is not merely a personal journey; it is a universal responsibility, a necessary step to ensure our actions align with the greater good.

The Mirror Within – Why Understanding Oneself Matters

In 1957, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn began writing One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a monumental work birthed from the ashes of his imprisonment and subsequent exile. After enduring years in a Soviet “Special Camp” for political prisoners, he could have easily succumbed to bitterness and blame, The horrors of Stalinist oppression, the machinery of tyranny, and the devastating consequences of collectivized cruelty offered no shortage of external scapegoats. But Solzhenitsyn, like a few rare souls in history, chose a different path.

In a moment of profound self-reflection, he asked himself an astonishing question: “What if what happened to me is, in part, my own fault?” It wasn’t a self-condemnation born of guilt or denial of the oppressive system he lived under. Instead, it was an acknowledgment of his agency, however limited, in shaping his destiny.

While in the brutal concentration camp, Solzhenitsyn came to believe that if one chooses to blame all their suffering on external forces like Hitler or Stalin, one forfeits the power to change. He decided instead to look inward and examine his life with the meticulous precision of a fine-tooth comb. Every mistake, every compromise, every moment he failed to live in alignment with his values was scrutinized.

This radical acceptance of personal responsibility was not unique to Solzhenitsyn. It echoed the wisdom of Fyodor Dostoevsky, who famously wrote, “Everyone is responsible for everyone and everything.” Both believed that to truly understand oneself, one must acknowledge their role, however small, in the world’s chaos. Solzhenitsyn did just that—confronting his past, taking responsibility for his present, and committing to what he could change in the future.

The result of this internal transformation was extraordinary. Solzhenitsyn’s writing became a mirror to Soviet society, exposing the moral and ideological rot at its core. His work inspired millions, and through his relentless courage, he helped lay the intellectual and moral foundation for the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.

Solzhenitsyn’s story is a testament to the transformative power of understanding oneself. It shows that the path to dismantling tyranny—whether personal or societal—begins not with pointing fingers outward but with courageously looking inward. By embracing personal responsibility, even in the face of unimaginable oppression, Solzhenitsyn exemplified the profound truth that self-awareness is not only vital for personal growth but also for saving the world.

The Symphony of the Self – What It Feels Like to Truly Know Yourself

Knowing oneself is not some checkbox on a to-do list, something you complete and then move on to “more important” tasks like saving the world. And sure, you might argue, “But isn’t that what Buddha did?” The harsh reality is that you’re not Buddha. You’re you—whatever that means—and you’re stuck with that. Understanding oneself is not a finish line you cross; it’s a lifelong battle, like learning or striving to be good. It’s a constant process, not something you can neatly package and set aside.

Understanding yourself is as relentless as the task of being good. You don’t just be good; you try to be good, again and again, every single day. The same goes for self-awareness. You’re as complex as the society you live in, carrying within you a reflection of that society’s structure—a voice that dictates what’s acceptable, what’s not, what’s right, and what’s wrong. Society is a tangled, ever-shifting web of rules, expectations, and contradictions. And guess what? The society within you is just as chaotic.

But it doesn’t stop there. Add in your sub-personalities, each with its own cravings and desires. Some of these parts of you are so foreign, so unsettling, that you outright hate them. Then there’s your neurochemistry and physiological needs—the sleep you skip, the junk you eat, the dopamine hits you chase. These layers make understanding yourself infinitely difficult. Achieving it fully? That’s god-level work. And maybe, just maybe, when you get closer to understanding yourself, you inch closer to divinity.

Understanding oneself isn’t just about confronting the darkness in your heart. It’s also about recognizing the desperate love you crave, the validation you need, the hunger to be noticed and appreciated. I can’t tell you what it feels like to fully understand oneself—because I’m not there, not even close. But I can tell you what it’s like to catch glimpses of it. It’s like solving physics equations, and you’re Einstein. You can’t change the fundamental equations, but every once in a while, with immense effort, you align things just right. You take the wrongs and start making them right.

It’s not about some idealized embodiment of perfection. It’s about walking a tightrope between chaos and order, balancing the anger within you with the love you’re capable of giving. You don’t need to extinguish your anger entirely; you just need to channel it into something constructive. You don’t need to stop being good to protect yourself; you need to direct your hatred towards the injustices and wrongs you’ve endured.

Remember this: you are to yourself what a cutting-edge field of study is to a researcher. You need to stay curious, stay updated, and keep learning. It’s not about perfecting yourself. It’s about acknowledging that you’re flawed—deeply, fundamentally flawed—and making a conscious effort every day not to let those flaws define you. It’s about refusing to do the wrong thing, no matter how easy it might be.

The Quest for Selfhood – Practical Steps to Understanding Oneself

Let me ask you this: if you want to understand your spouse or your girlfriend, what do you do? You have a dialogue with them, right? You ask them, “What’s up with you? What do you want from me?” and then you genuinely try to understand where they’re coming from. If you want to understand your child, you ask them what’s going on in their little world.

If you’re trying to grasp a political narrative, you listen to the leader talk—even if it pisses you off, even if it challenges your beliefs. In all these cases, what do you do? You listen. Maybe that’s why you understand a lecture on YouTube better than your spouse or your kids—because when you’re watching that video, you don’t have the liberty to interrupt the speaker. You’re forced to shut up and pay attention.

The same rule applies when you’re trying to understand yourself. You have to listen to yourself. You need to sit down, shut up, and have a real dialogue with that stranger inside you. Ask yourself, “What’s going on with you? What do you want? What’s bothering you? What are your dreams? And how much of a jackass have you been?” This isn’t some fancy method; it’s a meditation. You’re stuck with yourself, like it or not, and you don’t get to walk away. You’ve got no choice but to figure out how to work together with the stranger inside you.

And here’s the truth: just like building muscle or learning a skill, you have to work on this ability to have meaningful conversations with yourself. It’s not going to come naturally at first. It’ll be awkward, frustrating, even humiliating. But I promise you, if you keep at it, you’ll get better over time. Eventually, you’ll master it. And when you do, you’ll find that the stranger you’ve been trying so desperately to avoid is not your enemy. That stranger might just be the god you’ve been trying to impress.

Maybe you and that stranger—the real you—need to become friends. Maybe together, you can make the world a better place. This isn’t all that different from understanding your passions or working on what you love. It’s about facing yourself as you truly are—messy, flawed, and full of potential. Stop running. Sit down. Listen. Start the conversation. That’s the only way forward.

The Hero’s Journey Begins Within

Are you the hero, or are you just another NPC—just another bystander who’s given up all hope of protecting and providing for himself? In the end, it’s your choice. Are you going to work with yourself, take control, and save the people you can? Or are you just going to sit around and wait for some “real hero” to come and save your sorry ass? It’s your choice. No hero, no conqueror has ever worn the crown without first facing the monster within. There is no other way. And yes, it’s hard as hell—but that’s the cost of choosing to lead.

When you look within yourself, at least you’ll gain a logical understanding of the chaos and structure of the society that exists inside you. And trust me, there’s a special place in Dante’s hell for leaders who abandon their people to tyranny and destruction. What stops you from being one of them? Self-reflection. The courage to examine yourself honestly. The ability to face the structure of your inner world and not flinch.

But let me tell you this: hell is the price you pay to lead. Don’t underestimate it. Hell isn’t just some fiery pit where you sit around waiting for your sins to catch up to you. It’s a bottomless void. No matter how far you fall, there will always be some bastard waiting to drag you deeper. And you’ll have to fight them—and yourself—every step of the way.

It’s up to you now. It’s not about saving the world; it’s about saving the world from you. The darkness inside you, the weaknesses, the excuses—they’re what you have to conquer. If you don’t, that darkness spills out into the world. That’s what makes the difference between a hero and everyone else.

In the end, heroism isn’t the absence of evil. It’s the presence of creation. It’s building something better, despite the chaos, despite the pain. So what’s it going to be? Are you the hero, or just another pawn waiting for someone else to do the work? The choice has always been yours.