The process of self-discovery is not just a process of looking inside but rather an active, sometimes brave, and courageous rebellion against the forces of the outside that have formed our lives. The method of “Awakening” involves separating ourselves from the tangled web of social, cultural, and familial habits to uncover and accept our authentic selves. It’s a return to our voices, our wishes, and our rights to define ourselves.
This is a universal path, but its challenges are specifically shaped by the different societies we live in. It requires a thorough awareness of the limitations we have accepted as norms and the determination to stand up for what is right in opposition to accepted rules.
1: Understanding Internalized Limitations Across Cultures
Conditioning is the unspoken curriculum for our daily lives. It’s the unwritten guidelines, expectations, standards, as well as “shoulds” absorbed from childhood through our communities, families, and the media. These stories are so inseparable that we believe they are our own ideas and needs. This internalization creates invisible walls between us and our potential.
These limitations can manifest differently across different cultures, but the result is the same in that it is a fragmentation of the self.
- Undoubtedly, this is a part of Western Individualistic Cultures: The focus of conditioning is often on consumption, achievement, and a particular blueprint to “success. “ The internalized limit is that a person’s worth is determined by the amount of material acquired, productivity, as well as maintaining a carefully curated image externally in social media. The authentic self, which can be valued in the importance of rest and community, or in artistic hobbies that aren’t commercially viable, is lost in the midst of a plethora of success.
- In Eastern as well as Collective Cultural Perspectives, there is a strong emphasis on family respect and duty, as well as conformity and ensuring social harmony. The individual’s desires are usually less important than the group’s requirements. Internalized limits include the anxiety of inflicting “shame” on one’s family or the pressure to go after glamorous careers, or adherence to rigid timeframes for children and marriage. The authentic self is silenced to maintain the game’s status quo.
- An All-Over Thread: Gender Roles Perhaps the most prevalent kind of cross-cultural conditioning is around gender. Around the globe, we are divided into two narrow categories: “masculinity” and “femininity.” Men may internalize a limitation in their emotional expression (“boys don’t cry”) while women may be taught to accept limits on ambition, confidence, and self-confidence. To be free from the shackles of society, you must challenge the basic assumptions.
Recognizing these patterns can be the initial step to freedom. It lets us consider our anxieties, insecurities, fears, and sentiments about “not enoughness” not as personal flaws but instead as the echoes of our conditioned narratives that we can change.
2: The Courage to Speak Truth and Set Boundaries
It is an intellectual process, but the process of liberation is a behavioral one. Recognizing your own limitations is not enough without the strength to take action against them. The most common way to do this is in two ways:
- Speak Your Truth. The voice is the real you. It involves having an opinion that isn’t popular in your circle of family members, expressing a need that’s been denied, sharing a vision you’ve resisted speaking about, or even declaring “I disagree.” It’s telling your truth even if your voice is shaking.
- Boundaries Setting: This is the vital defense of the authentic self. These are lines that we draw to safeguard our energy, time, and emotional well-being. They can be a “no” to a draining obligation, a limitation on how others can talk to you, or even a deliberate decision to distance yourself from relationships that make you feel diminished. It is commonly viewed as selfish; however, it’s actually an act that shows self-respect and protection.
It is not a lack of anxiety; it’s instead the determination to do something regardless of the fear. This is a muscle that gets strengthened with each small, authentic action.
Example: African Women Redefining Tradition While Honoring Heritage
This illustration perfectly captures the intricate and powerful process of awakening within the context of a particular culture.
- The Condition: African cultures tend to be highly communitarian, emphasizing respect for elders, family members, and gender-specific roles, with particular attention paid to elders, family, and gender relations, as well as gender-specific roles and “Ubuntu” (“I am because we are”). Women typically assumed roles such as primary caregiver, managing household duties, and prioritizing family needs over personal desires; any deviation from this model could be seen as rejecting family traditions and culture altogether.
- The Internalized Limitations: A brilliant, determined young lady may feel a deep-seated sense of guilt for seeking to study overseas to pursue a PhD rather than getting married. She may think that she is lying to her parents and community. They may believe that her accomplishment is only legitimate if it is in line with the norm, resulting in an unending internal struggle between her actual goals and her preconceived notion of obligation.
- The Awakening and Reclamation. The contemporary African woman is traversing this complicated terrain with astonishing depth and nuance. The awakening she is experiencing is not an outright rejection of her culture, but rather a thoughtful evaluation.
- She honors her community by upholding its essential values, embracing its strength, and respecting its elders, as well as its rich tradition of storytelling and the strength inherent in her culture. She is an expression of pride as well as identity.
- She redefines herself by setting boundaries and speaking up, courageously having difficult conversations with her family members about her lifestyle choices. She argues that having an education or a career doesn’t make her an inferior woman or an unloved daughter. She interprets “Ubuntu” to include her personal well-being–“I can’t be my best for ‘we’ if I’m not true to my ‘I’.”
- She develops a fresh synthesizer: She becomes a lawyer who advocates for women’s rights and uses the traditional justice concept in a contemporary setting. She is a wife who negotiates an equal marriage, changing the way marriage is defined. The artist blends conventional themes with modern ones. She is proud of her heritage, not by residing in the past, but instead by creating an ever-expanding future for herself and future generations of women to follow.