What is self-awareness?
Self-awareness is really about keeping track of our emotions and our reactions to our emotions, as well as keeping track of exactly how we behave. Self-awareness is when we become aware of our actions and behaviors.
While we’re going through life, our subconscious mind stores certain patterns that we’ve picked up along the way. And all we can do is respond to the triggers that are thrown our way.
Self-awareness enables us to recognize our emotions and responses, as well as to rewrite or recreate the patterns that our subconscious mind has already established. As a result, we tend to react in a certain way to certain events or emotions.
Nonetheless, what if we were able to rewrite our reactions or our responses to things by learning exactly what our triggers are? This is a game-changing development. There are many coping mechanisms we develop early in childhood that help us survive, but they can also sometimes and very often get in the way of our achieving our goals, whether you’re an entrepreneur, leader, or in any other area of your life.
Empathy
One of the most important skills you can have is the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes and see things from their point of view. This will allow you to have greater compassion and understanding for others. When it comes to being more compassionate, it will also teach you the importance of being more flexible, so that you can better deal with changing circumstances.
Versatility
We become more flexible and adaptable as a result of increasing our self-awareness, which in turn boosts our self-confidence. As a result, we improve our ability to be fully present in the present moment. Now, this isn’t going to happen in a day or two.
Self-awareness is a skill that requires practice, just like any other exercise or skill we are trying to improve.
Four Ways to Improve Self-Awareness
- Keep an open mind – When we think we’re open-minded, we’re actually closed-minded. We’re so firmly entrenched in our beliefs and thought processes that we fail to recognize that we’re not open to new ideas or ways of doing things. As a result, it’s important to be able to identify and manage your own emotions.
- Being mindful of what your strengths and weaknesses are – Knowing when to ask for help, as well as what your strengths and weaknesses are, is critical for everyone, no matter what your situation. It’s important to know your weaknesses and strengths so that you can ask for help from others, delegate if you’re in a business situation, or even if you’re doing household chores. This takes time and effort. Moreover, you must be able to admit, with honesty, to yourself.
- Setting boundaries – This is critical not only for your own well-being but also for the well-being of those around you. Setting boundaries requires the ability to say no. Yes, there are a lot of things we want to accept as commitments, but saying yes only to those things that align with our core values and beliefs, being truly authentic to who we are, and knowing how and when to say no are all important life lessons.
- Consider how your actions make others feel – We are in charge of how we respond and behave in the real world. Our behavior is direct, and it stems from our own thoughts and actions. People’s feelings can be hurt, and we can be brutal and hurtful without even realizing it if we aren’t self-aware.
Practicing self awareness helps us see things through many different perspectives. It helps us have healthier relationships and be able to regulate our emotional well-being.
