The Secret to Knowing Yourself Better

Summary

Mina Sue Choi’s podcast episode explores how to live according to your own values and get to know yourself through reflection and experience.

• Listen to your own judgment. Mina says it’s natural to compare yourself with others or care about criticism, but other people don’t know your full story. She tries to distinguish useful criticism from empty negativity and not let outside approval define her.
• Accept that being disliked can come with putting yourself out there. Mina was afraid of public judgment and initially turned down interview opportunities for Single’s Inferno. Choosing to participate taught her that even a painful wave of online criticism could reveal how much people who knew her personally cared about her.
• Use journaling to understand yourself. Mina’s “lucky journal” is a place to record schedules, mantras, quotes, feelings, and honest thoughts. She finds writing therapeutic and uses it to explore what she genuinely likes, rather than simply adopting other people’s preferences.
  • Write freely; don’t wait until you can sound smart or write perfectly.
  • Treat the journal as a nonjudgmental space where you can be imperfect and express difficult feelings.
  • Don’t rewrite or erase past entries. Read them, observe, and learn from them.
  • Try journaling for yourself and decide whether it works for you.
• Make important decisions by checking your values. Mina writes down what matters to her and asks whether a decision aligns with those values. She also considers whether her choices might encourage young people to be independent and bold.
• Make room for the full range of emotions. Mina wants a “full” life that includes happiness, sadness, anger, and hardship—not only pleasant experiences.
• Let confidence develop through self-acceptance. Mina says her confidence was built over time. For her, confidence means recognizing both insecurities and strengths, rather than pretending to be flawless. A therapist’s phrase, “imperfectly perfect,” helped her accept herself.
• Keep discovering who you are. Mina encourages spending time alone to reflect while also stepping outside your comfort zone. Both reflection and new, uncomfortable experiences can help clarify your preferences and reveal more about yourself.

Mina also explains that her channel name, “minasue way,” represents the freedom to live according to her own path rather than be defined by expectations or labels. She opens the episode with dried fruit and banana chips as a snack.

Notable locations, products, shows, and people

• Location: Seoul, South Korea
• Products: Mina’s “lucky journal”; Berry Mixed Banana Chips
• Shows and projects: Single’s Inferno, Miss Earth, and Mina’s earlier podcast series At Your Home
• People mentioned: Mina Sue Choi, JAEJAE, Anne Hathaway, Mina’s parents, and Mina’s college therapist