It's popularly believed that each and every one of us has a doppelganger.
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This other person is supposed to look so much like us that determining who's who becomes difficult if not impossible. And indeed it's highly likely that there are people out there who have physical characteristics that closely resemble our own.
But that's all there is to it.
The fact is that each of us is entirely unique, the very specific result of centuries of nature and years of nurture.
And that's a marvellous thing because it's that uniqueness which makes us special as individuals.
Very few of us will ever achieve eminence just as few of us will ever achieve notoriety.
Some will struggle with issues of self-identity while others will spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find their way through the maze and confusion of the life experiences of those who surround them.
It's important, however, for the focus to - at least occasionally - return to self. No one knows us more than we know ourselves.
We know our strengths and weaknesses and we need to appreciate ourselves.
Self-discovery is every bit as much a life journey as self-appreciation because change is always happening both around us as well as inside us.
But the two go together.
One should not be devalued at the expense of the other.
- Gary Bentley is a Rural Aid counsellor