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The Importance of Living an Examined Life
Most of us are so busy living our lives – often feeling as if we can barely keep our heads above water – that there is little if any time left for contemplating what matters most: ourselves.
Which is a tragedy, really, because there is a growing body of research demonstrating that self-awareness – and the emotional intelligence that comes with it – is instrumental to a happier, more meaningful and productive life.
This is a big part of the reason Lucidata exists: to provide individuals with a steady diet of tools and resources that can help expand one’s level of self-awareness and enjoy the endless benefits that come with it.
The unexamined life is not worth living. – Socrates
If those research-driven benefits aren’t enough for you, consider too that the great minds of philosophy and art, of spirituality and science, have urged us toward one goal above all others: know thyself.
To do otherwise is to risk living our days in ignorance or, worse, at the direction and expectation of others. Or as Socrates so eloquently put it: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
The Lucidata Approach
Our approach is simple yet scientific; relaxed yet dogged. We start with rigorously scientific assessments that provide you with a solid understanding of how science – and the outside world – see you (aka your personality, your goals, how you pursue those goals, and so on). These assessments are fast, convenient, and specifically built for a modern audience.
Similarly, the customized reports generated by these assessments haven been stripped of unnecessary jargon. They’re written for maximum understanding.
With all that said, note that we are not an assessment company. We see assessments as useful tools to help people understand how science – and others – likely see them. But their results are to be heeded, not necessarily believed, and most certainly not turned into still more labels in which to box oneself.
Remember, science changes. So pinning any ideas of ‘who you are’ to the result of an assessment – ours or anyone else’s – is a mistake. To wit: Personality, once deemed largely permanent, is increasingly seen as far more flexible and fungible than previously imagined.
Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. – Aristotle
Instead, think of our assessments as an important launch point for your journey toward greater levels of self-awareness. A bit like a ‘you are here’ marker. (You can take our assessments as often as you like, using them as measuring sticks to gauge your progress.)
The rest of our solution is built around content and you.
We provide the content, the How To suggestions, the case studies and first-person accounts. But you have to do the work, have to want it, have to see self-awareness as at least as a goal that is at least as important to you as a job, career, money, relationships.
The good news is that those sages and philosophers were onto something: research shows that self-awareness leads to all kinds of benefits, including stronger career choices, more meaningful relationships, and generally speaking, a happier and more purposeful life.
Or to borrow from Socrates, your examined life will turn into something worth living.