57 things I know about myself

omphaloskepsis

Hi! This is Leyla from A Day Well Spent, a newsletter seeking pathways to more purposeful living.

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Last year someone sent me an email explaining they were hoping to write a book and that they wanted a chapter in it to be about me. I was surprised, flattered, questioned if they had emailed the right person, and all of the rest.

I’m not sure if the author made any progress with getting his idea published as I haven’t heard any updates for a while, so I won’t say what the book is about in case it’s still in the works.

For him to get to know me better for the chapter, we spent an afternoon together which involved a nice long lunch. But before that, we had some time booked out in a meeting room in a swish co-working space in London.

With his Dictaphone running, the writer opened with, ‘Let’s start at the beginning — tell me what you were like as a kid.’

I then proceeded to talk about myself for two hours straight.

This was a new experience for me.

It felt unnatural and unbelievably self-indulgent to have such a one way conversation – just talking about myself – without making any enquiries about the other person. Sure, I’ve been interviewed before for a few minutes here and there. But this was a sustained period of self-excavation.

I’ve never been to therapy but I remember thinking at the time, I wonder if this is what therapy is like?

I had little idea what I had to say about myself going into that interview, but it turns out, there is quite a lot.

Inspired by

India Knight

’s enjoyable piece 66 things I know about myself, I thought I’d share something similar. Some of the results of the self-analysis from those two hours of self-absorbed chat, and introspection since.

Just in case anyone is remotely interested in reading them!

Also, I’ve learnt a new word that feels apt for today:

    — omphaloskepsis (noun)

    1. contemplation of one's navel as part of a mystical exercise
    2. navel-gazing

57 things I know about myself

1. Spreadsheets are brilliant and I use them to organise most of my life (along with Google calendar).

2. If it’s a long journey, I'd rather wait an extra hour for an empty train and get home late, than get on one where I’d have to sit next to a random person the whole way.