I hear and read about the need to find one's inner-self so that one can begin self-improvement. The more I hear this, the more I know that looking for your inner-self is a waste of time and effort, and here's why.

I believe that each person on this earth already knows their inner-self. Deep down, each and everyone one of us knows our own good points and bad points, our strengths and weaknesses, our desires and fears and our loves and hates. Therefore, constantly looking for our inner-self is not productive. Making endless lists of our traits is a complete waste of time: it gets us nowhere. At best, we just go round in ever decreasing circles, at worst it can lead to the worst kind of narcissism.

To look for what has already been found is not going to improve our lives. Real self development can only come through trying to understand our inner-self.

But, some may say: Isn't understanding one's inner-self the same thing as finding one's inner-self. No it is not. There is a difference and we must understand the difference. Finding and listing what constituents our being, as I have stated above, is wasting time - as we already know what these things are. But very few of us actually understand how we got these traits in the first place.

Searching and understanding is analogous to the star gazers of two ancient races; the Olmecs and the Sumerians. The Olmecs continuously watched and mapped the stars over hundreds of years. They made endless recordings and lists. But they never tried to understand why stars change position; they just accepted, without questioning. Astronomy went no further than just simple lists of dates. Ultimately the heavens remained an enigma to them. Like the Olmecs, the Sumerians were also avid star gazer, but unlike the Olmecs, the Sumerians asked: why? They wanted to know why the stars move across the sky. Ultimately, the Sumerians came to understand the heavens more than other peoples; it was they who first calculated that the year consisted of 360 days - somewhat off the mark, but the fact we split a circle into 360 degrees is because of the Sumerians who lived 2500 years ago.

But why do so many people fail to understand themselves? The simple truth is that the journey in understanding our inner-self must be accompanied by honesty: honesty to one's self. Is that all? Surely we must bring into play other attributes? No, all we need is to be honest with ourselves. Honesty to one's self is a many faceted quality. It comprises many things such as, integrity, humility, empathy to those around you, sympathy, compassion, courage and, above all, love - for those around you and for yourself. Don't be put off your journey of self discovery thinking you need to master all of these skills: by mastering complete truthfulness to yourself, you'll master everything else you need for your journey.

If it's that simple why do so many people make do with finding rather than understanding? The answer is simple: fear. Truly understanding our self can bring many unpleasant memories and forces us to confront our past mistakes and wrong doings. It takes courage to understand why we may have done things we are ashamed of; it takes courage to dig up hidden pain; it takes courage to admit that we have hurt others. For many it is far easier not to understand, even if the lives they are living are empty, anguished or hurtful.

It is only through understanding one's inner-self can we begin to address our issues, correct past mistakes and enrich our lives. Understanding doesn't come all at once, or very quickly. Very few, if any, come to completely understand their inner-self. Self improvement can be an arduous, sometimes very painful process. But in which world would you prefer to live: The Olmec stargazers who never understood and feared the heavens, or the Sumerians, and all those who've since come after them, and have contributed to our understanding of the cosmos. We still don't understand everything about the heavens - and never will - but there is a realisation that the more we understand about the heavens, the more beautiful they really are.