As the world of self-development seems to be on the upswing, self-awareness seems to be a popular word. I know it is one that I have really dove into over the last couple of years, especially during the pandemic and quarantine.
What is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness is the capacity that a person has to examine one’s own thoughts and feelings. It includes gaining an understanding of and insight into one’s strengths, qualities, weaknesses, defects, ideas, thoughts, beliefs, ideas, responses, reactions, attitudes, emotions, and motivations. It also includes examining how others perceive you, and how others are impacted by your behavior, response, and conduct.
Self-awareness is attainable for anyone, but sadly most do not have it. Most people are floating through life on autopilot and have no awareness of how, when, and why they are doing things. How can you create the life you desire when you are oblivious to what you are?
“Even though most people believe they are self-aware, only 10-15% of the people studied actually fit the criteria.”
Types of Self-Awareness
There are two types of self-awareness. One is internal self-awareness and the second is external self-awareness. Internal self-awareness represents how clearly we see our own values, passions, aspirations, fit with our environment, reactions (including thoughts, feelings, behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses), and impact on others.
External self-awareness means understanding how other people view us, in terms of those same factors listed above. Our research shows that people who know how others see them are more skilled at showing empathy and taking others’ perspectives. For leaders who see themselves as their employees do, employees tend to have a better relationship with them, feel more satisfied with them, and see them as more effective in general.
The most amazing thing is, we can have one without the other. We can be extremely internally self-aware and yet need to work on our external self-awareness.
See the chart below to examine where you are on the self-awareness scale.
Who Needs Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness is needed by everyone that is wanting to increase the chances of success and living a fulfilled life Your thoughts lead to the release of hormones that lead to emotions that lead to behaviors that result in your results. So, if you are unaware of your thoughts alone, can you see how you are blindly throwing darts at your results.
To create the life you want, you have to be aware of where you are and what you actually want in life.
Self-awareness takes self-examination. An unbiased self-examination can be difficult. You are always examining yourself through your lens of belief and perception, and you tend to berate yourself for your shortcomings or perceived failures or exaggerate how great you are in certain areas of your life. You have to try to get a clear picture of what you are and where you are, so you can start to grow.
How to Increase
You can take walks especially in the quiet of nature, which can be useful in building self-awareness. As you begin to let your unconscious mind relax and focus on your steps, you will see things start to come to mind. Take note of the thoughts, ideas, and concepts that are peaking through.
The second way to increase self-awareness is to practice mindfulness. You begin to focus more on the present moment and what is going on, and less on the past and future. You will be fully present in the moment.
The third tip is to become a good listener. You spend so much time talking and if you shift to spend more time being an active listener, you will begin to become more externally self-aware. This is a great way to increase external self-awareness.
Keeping a journal is a great way to really dive into the self-awareness realm. This is one of my favorites and has been the most beneficial way to improve self-awareness. When you journal consistently, you can begin to see your thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and other things that may be hindering you from reaching your full potential.
The last tip is to practice meditation and other mindfulness habits. Meditation is a practice that when I consistently practice, I see a difference in my results. Finding the right type of meditation for you is key. You may respond better to guided meditation. Those are my favorites.
In wrapping up, you can see increasing your self-awareness will really begin to shift your results and life in the direction you are desiring. If you are a female and want to join a community of other females working daily to build a fulfilled life focused on growing their wealth, health, and relationships, join One Gutsy Life. It is a free community full of resources for females yearning for more.