We ask ourselves the age-old question, “Who am I?” at least once in our lives. Self-discovery is an ongoing search that many claim to have a resolution to.
Jeffrey Thayne, a psychology professor at BYU-Idaho, believes that in order to find yourself, you must address your responsibilities and integrate yourself into community.
Religious beliefs play a role in his ideal. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members believe they are bound to God through sacred promises which are known as covenants. Thayne believes these covenants help us find the truest version of ourselves.
Thayne wants to weed out the worldviews that have influenced our idea of ourselves. Expressive individualism is one of those worldviews, which prioritizes self-expression and personal authenticity.
“My identity is found in shared space between myself and others,” Thayne said. “And there are many psychologists that are coming around to this point of view and they argue that our tastes and preferences don’t stem from some inner well spring of personality and preference but are actually deeply influenced by the communities that we integrate with.”
As we understand our roles and responsibilities and commit to them, that is when we can truly know who we are. Thayne believes we find belonging by investing ourselves in a cause that is greater than ourselves.
“I think to truly understand who you are and your place in this world, you need to look to God. To spend some time praying and fasting," Thayne said.
He encourages people to put distance between themselves and distracting noise, like social media, and ponder the truths that are found in scripture in order to understand who they are.