I am thrilled to welcome a guest post today from Author Barbara McNally.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to read and review Barbara’s book Unbridled!  I love what Barbara’s mission is and am excited to be able to share more of her story with you today!

I get asked this often.

The answer is technically “yes,” but it benefits everyone around us, so, in the end, it’s really essential.

I mean, what’s the point of spending your time figuring out everything and everyone else, but not yourself? “Who are you?” is a very powerful and ageless question.

Here are three reasons why I think embarking on a journey of self discovery is important:

1. The journey of self discovery can be a positive and constructive experience of self interest, and being concerned with your best interest is an important part of living out your full potential as a unique and complete individual. You have a right to the pursuit of happiness, to discover who you are and what your purpose is. You have to know yourself to be yourself. You have to be yourself in order to give of yourself authentically, which is the greatest gift. Mother Teresa said she helped the children of Calcutta because it gave her so much joy. She gave authentically from her heart, the best gift, because it brought her joy.

2. I was driven towards self examination when I hit a crisis in life. I had to look within and realize the only person I could change was myself. In this journey, I had to accept my dark side as it came to light through an affair. I was acting out destructively, rebelling in my marriage. It was like an employee stealing from his boss because he’s so angry at his company. He gets fired, but it’s not the best way to look for a new career. The most positive way is to take some time and figure out what we want from life and then to go for it openly and honestly, so we don’t hurt others. (To read more about my journey, I invite you to read my memoir Unbridled.)

3. Going on a journey of self discovery benefits everyone around us. By not playing the victim and taking responsibility for ourselves, looking at our options and knowing ourselves makes us more enjoyable to be around. I was lucky enough to completely remove myself from the hamster wheel and to travel to look at my life from a different perspective. Not everyone can travel, but everyone can journal, walk in the park, meditate, pray and speak to a counselor. We all have options. We may not like the options we have, but that’s the first step in taking responsibility for creating the life we want.

“There is a great deal of difference between loss, change, and transformation. A loss is a step backward; a change is an opportunity; transformation is a step forward. The common denominator is these three realities is the fact that one must give up something. It is possible for both loss and change to lead to transformation, but it is not possible for transformation to occur unless something is lost and something is changed.” –Anthony Padovano

What are your thoughts on self discovery? Where are you in your own process of discovering who you are and what you want out of life? I’d love to hear from you!

Guest Blogger Bio: Barbara McNally inspires and empowers women to live out their passions through her blog, Unbridled Freedom, her foundation, Mother Lover Fighter Sage, and her first book, Unbridled: A Memoir. She is an author, an activist, a mother, a lover, a fighter and a sage.