Yes, it’s important to be self-aware!
Today let’s zoom in on the idea of self-awareness:
- Why aren’t more people self-aware?
- What is it, exactly?
- How can you become more self-aware?
- Words of caution
- Benefits of being self-aware
Self-awareness might very well be one of the most difficult virtues to
master. Why? Because people tend to believe they are already self-aware.
Who knows me better than me? I live with me day in and day out! Other
reasons it is difficult is because we cannot trust our conscious minds,
memories, or self-evaluation.
However, self-awareness is a much deeper idea than just being a witness
to one’s own life or justifying our initial truths we believe about ourselves.
Self-awareness includes being aware of your strengths and weaknesses in
an objective way. It is understanding what triggers your emotions and
behaviors. It is being aware of your values and goals and being able to
judge what behaviors are in line with the life you hope to create. It is
understanding the HOW and WHY of your WHAT.
When you understand your HOW and WHY you realize you have control
over your WHAT. You now have the opportunity to change things about
yourself, choose how you react, recognize how others see you, identify and
capitalize on your strengths and gifts, and look objectively at your
weaknesses.
How can you become more self-aware?
- Journaling
- Listen to your self-talk
- Write down your short and long term goals and review regularly
- Ask friends, family, and co-workers for feedback
- Take personality and strength tests such as the ones in our course
- Notice and acknowledge your feelings, and what triggers them
- Notice how others react to you
Just a note about feedback; be prepared to hear things that might make
you uncomfortable. If someone has the courage to speak about where they
believe you could improve, listen with a calm, objective mind, and give their
words attention.
Another word of caution: Introspection does not always equal self-
awareness. Too much introspection is actually not as helpful as just
NOTICING your thoughts, emotions and behaviors. Do not get caught in a
loop of obsessing over your every emotion and analyzing it, becoming self-
absorbed.
Now, let’s examine some of the benefits of self-awareness.
- Gives you more confidence to pursue your goals
- Eases decision making because you know your best path
- Allows us to understand things from others’ point of view
- Gives you more control over your thoughts and emotions
- Helps you recognize that you have more power to shape your
outcomes than you realize - Improves relationships because you are aware of how you are
affecting others - Frees us from wrong assumptions
- Hopefully leads to self-acceptance
Self-awareness is a valuable virtue for all these reasons, and although not
the easiest to develop or accept, it is a virtue that will enrich our lives with
clarity and truth.
For more on self-awareness, check out these videos: