The Self-Awareness Guy

Why Are Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence Important? - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Why Are Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence Important?

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Why are self-awareness and emotional intelligence important? Because they can make the difference between living a happy, balanced life and an unsettled, difficult one. They also deeply affect your decision making process and how you get along with others.

Imagine being able understand and deal with and manage any emotion that comes your way. Why should you care? Here are some reasons why self-awareness and emotional intelligence are important:

  • You are able to identify what you’re feeling inside.
  • You’re able to manage your emotions.
  • You’re able to use your feelings to take action in a positive direction.
  • You are able to deal with other people’s emotions.
  • You are able to separate your emotions from those of other people.
  • You get along well with others.
  • You possess empathy and build stronger relationships with other people.
  • You are more flexible and open to change.
  • You don’t live in fear or anger.
  • You are more self-aware.
  • You are able to handle your emotions so well that your life is easier and more enjoyable.
  • You are able to consciously manage how you feel, think, and behave.
  • You make decisions and take action based on reason instead of impulse or reactiveness.

Think about what your life would look like if you only did one of the things I’ve listed here. Now what if you lived your life doing all these things? What would your experience be? How would it be different from how you do things now?

The reason self-awareness and emotional intelligence are so important is that they give you the tools to live life consciously and deliberately. You no longer have to worry about reacting negatively to emotions or letting them wreak havoc or keep you off balance. As you learn how to positively experience your emotions, your quality of life will improve.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence?

Cheers,

Guy

Living Courageously with Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Living Courageously with Self-Awareness

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Living courageously requires building your self-awareness and doing things that are difficult and uncomfortable, such as:

  • Healing your inner hurts.
  • Daring to pursue your dreams.
  • Admitting mistakes.
  • Writing poetry.
  • Doing things to make the world a better place.
  • Advocating for people who lack power.
  • Standing up to injustice.
  • Showing the world the real you.
  • Feeling your feelings.
  • Letting your voice be heard.

Anyone can just let life happen to them. The challenge is to strive for deeper meaning and substance, an existence you can be proud of because you made a significant difference in some way, and not just for yourself. I enjoy connecting with people who value self-awareness because they are often the ones discussing the difficult topics that no one else wants to delve into.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and live courageously?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Change the World for the Better - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware People Change the World for the Better

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A key element of self-awareness is realizing how much power you have to change the world for the better. A single person can lift humanity out of misery or plunge it into self-destruction. One damaged individual can lead a nation into the precipice or destroy the planet. One healthy individual can help bring about hope, kindness, and healing.

The amazing thing about human beings is that we have the ability to move in any direction we want. Each day we have the opportunity to work for the common good or promote strife. I love interacting with people who value self-awareness because they understand the effect of their thoughts, words, and actions. They use their personal power to move beyond their own immediate needs to helping highlight injustices and create a better world.

If one individual can help people get along or go to war, imagine the power you wield to change anything that matters to you. What will you do to develop self-awareness and change the world for the better?

Cheers,

Guy

Rude People Lack Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Rude People Lack Self-Awareness

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We’ve all met people who seem to enjoy being rude or do things that annoy or hurt others. This type of person usually doesn’t have a lot of self-awareness because, if they did, they would realize the consequences of their behaviors. People behave rudely for a variety of reasons including:

  • Insecurity and lack of self-esteem.
  • Fear of letting people get closer.
  • Lack of appropriate role models.
  • Inability to feel empathy.
  • Need to dominate others.
  • Protect themselves from people hurting them.
  • Negative attention-seeking behavior.
  • They’ve been hurt in the past and take it out on others.
  • Habit.
  • Lack of self-awareness.

People who behave rudely don’t usually do things consciously, they behave the way they do because they feel something horrible inside and don’t know what else to do.

The good news is that anyone can change direction, stop behaving like a jerk, and live a happier life by increasing their self-awareness. It starts with reflecting on who they are and healing their hurts so they can treat themselves and others well.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and avoid behaving rudely?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Success in Our Culture - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Success in Our Culture

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Our culture often defines success it as having a lot of money, prestige, or power. My interpretation of success is building your self-awareness so you can be in touch with who you are inside and live in such a way that you don’t need to worry about wealth or influence.

There are countless really rich and powerful people who are miserable; you can tell because they don’t treat others well. Anyone who is willing to harm other people doesn’t feel good about himself or herself deep inside. Happy, balanced, fulfilled people treat themselves and others kindly because their lives are centered around creating a positive world rather than amassing wealth or crushing others.

I love consulting for people who value self-awareness because they tend to view success in terms of how healthy they are, not how much stuff they have or trophies they display on the mantle. Even if you don’t make a penny, you can still create something of great value.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and be meaningfully successful?

Cheers,

Guy

95 Ways Self-Awareness Helps You Live a Better Life - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

95 Ways Self-Awareness Helps You Live a Better Life

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Self-awareness helps you live a better life because it provides you a way to get in touch with who you are deep inside and live the life you really want to live. Here are some bits of wisdom to help you live a self-aware life.

  1. You deserve to be the real you.
  2. Self-aware people aren’t afraid of change.
  3. Have the courage to follow your own path in life.
  4. People who don’t listen to their inner voice are consistently miserable.
  5. If someone tries to tell you what to do with your life or who you should be, Run.
  6. Stop worrying what other people think about you and be whomever you want to be.
  7. Don’t give up your decision making power to others.
  8. Live your life consciously instead of just letting it happen to you.
  9. You can never be truly happy if you’re living your life through other people.
  10. Don’t let anyone tell you they have the answers you’re looking for. Only you have them.
  11. You will never find the answers you’re looking for if you keep looking outside yourself.
  12. Self-aware people are in touch with their emotions.
  13. The real you is always inside, waiting to be discovered.
  14. Create your own path in life, don’t worry about what anyone else says. Do your thing.
  15. We grow up with wonderful goals and dreams and then let other people knock them out of us.
  16. You’re magic. Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise.
  17. Don’t try to be like anyone else but yourself.
  18. The only way to live a deeply fulfilling life is to tap into your true talents.
  19. Some people live their entire lives without getting to know themselves on a deeper level.
  20. Superficial feelings, thoughts, and actions will get you superficial results.
  21. Many people never pursue their dreams and realize it when it’s too late.
  22. The way to find meaning in life is to live based on who you really are deep inside.
  23. Compassion is a characteristic of people who possess self-awareness.
  24. Living a self-aware life means healing yourself.
  25. People who pretend they’re happy aren’t in touch with their true selves.
  26. Self-aware people live more authentic lives.
  27. Don’t let anyone tell you your dreams don’t matter.
  28. Find meaning inside yourself rather than looking outside for answers.
  29. If someone says they’re happy all the time, they probably aren’t.
  30. Living superficially may help you avoid difficult issues but will never lead to true happiness.
  31. Have the courage to pursue your dreams, you’re worth it.
  32. Listen to your inner voice, the one that tells you who you really are.
  33. If you’re always sad or angry, it means you’re not in touch with your deeper self.
  34. It’s okay to feel, think, and behave as the real you.
  35. Being an outsider is often a sign that you’re a deeper person and don’t think like everyone else.
  36. Your are an amazing being with wonderful potential.
  37. Searching outside yourself for answers leads to living someone else’s life.
  38. True happiness comes from understanding who you are and following your own path.
  39. Only you know what you really want to do in life.
  40. You can’t find meaning in life if you don’t search for the meaning inside you.
  41. Self-aware people understand other people’s struggles.
  42. You can’t live a self-aware life if you’re not thinking for yourself.
  43. People who are happy with themselves treat others with empathy.
  44. Living genuinely means looking deep inside yourself.
  45. The only thing that will ever make you truly happy is being the real you.
  46. When you know yourself deeply, you’ll naturally live a happier life.
  47. Celebrate who you are deep inside.
  48. Living a self-aware life means helping the most vulnerable among us.
  49. Good people treat everyone well.
  50. Self-aware people speak up against injustice.
  51. Living a self-aware life means making decisions for yourself.
  52. Morality comes from within you, not from the outside.
  53. Feeling your emotions is natural, healthy, and necessary to live a deeper life.
  54. Live the life you really want to live regardless of what others say.
  55. Believe in yourself first and foremost.
  56. The answer is always love.
  57. Living a self-aware life means making choices that make the world a better place for everyone.
  58. You can tell when someone is damaged because they try to damage others.
  59. A deeply meaningful life arises from ongoing introspection.
  60. Living a self-aware life means healing your own hurts.
  61. Being part of a herd means you’re not looking deep inside for your own answers.
  62. Critical thinking is vital to living a self-aware, more meaningful life.
  63. Living a self-aware life means moving past bigotry and prejudice.
  64. Only if you love yourself can you love others.
  65. Question everything, challenge conventions, develop your own voice.
  66. Walk the other way if someone tells you they have all the answers for you.
  67. A lot of people try to live through others instead of looking deep inside themselves and living their own lives.
  68. You’ll never be happy if you’re pretending to be someone you’re not.
  69. The only answers that matter are the ones inside you.
  70. Hate never leads to happiness.
  71. No matter how hard you try to pretend, you can never truly be happy if you’re not.
  72. It’s difficult to lead a self-aware life but much more rewarding.
  73. Most people spend their entire lives on the surface.
  74. Living a self-aware life means behaving with kindness and compassion.
  75. Living with self-awareness means reaching out to and helping people who are not like you.
  76. Only you know if you’re truly happy inside, deep down inside.
  77. It takes courage to think for yourself.
  78. Your moral compass comes from inside you, not from an external source.
  79. Meaning in life is derived from being someone who loves generously.
  80. Fully experiencing your emotions is part of living a self-aware life.
  81. Self-aware people experience things on a different level.
  82. Don’t give up your power. Look deep inside and find your own answers.
  83. You deserve to live life as the real you.
  84. It’s hard being a self-aware person but the reward is you get to live a conscious, fulfilling life.
  85. Are you a self-aware person? Congratulations! That means that you understand things that most people don’t.
  86. Don’t let anyone tell you who or what you should be. Look deep inside for the answers.
  87. Meaning in life comes from within.
  88. Living a self-aware life means you’re able to take an honest and thorough look at yourself.
  89. You can’t find external answers to internal questions.
  90. The whole point in life is to be yourself, not what someone else says you should be.
  91. Living a self-aware life means that you possess courage.
  92. Being creative means you’re able to be vulnerable enough to show the world who you are.
  93. You’ll never find the answers outside yourself. Look deep inside instead.
  94. Living a self-aware life means you’re willing to look at the hard stuff.
  95. Self-aware people make the word a better place.
Soft-Skills Training Doesn't Work for Leaders Who Lack Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Soft-Skills Training Doesn’t Work for Leaders Who Lack Self-Awareness

/ / Self-Awareness in Leadership / , , ,

As part of my self-awareness consulting services, I design soft-skills training programs that help leaders create happier workplaces and I’ve noticed a recurring pattern over the years: Many people think that you can change behaviors overnight. They talk earnestly with me about team building or effective communication and expect that a one-day training will resolve everything. I’ve even had leaders and HR managers who lack self-awareness ask me to change how their employees communicate in one hour.

People mean well but the reality is that it takes considerable time and effort for training to take root in an organization. Otherwise it has little chance of having any impact. Here are ten practical ideas to improve your chances of success:

  1. Commit to training on an ongoing basis. It helps to have a set time and place for the training that people can rely on.
  2. Support employees so they can keep practicing the new skills they acquire.
  3. Involve leadership from the very beginning and have them be present and participating actively in the training.
  4. Don’t try to do it on the cheap. Your investment up-front often determines your long-term training success.
  5. Focus on improving behaviors.
  6. Conduct repeated training people can count on.
  7. Attendance isn’t optional.
  8. Set goals so you can measure success.
  9. Train trainers so they can keep the process going.
  10. Make the training part of your company culture.

Leaders who don’t do these things are the ones who lack self-awareness and lament that soft-skills training doesn’t work. Those who decide to focus on these areas find that the training they provide has a much better chance at succeeding. It almost always depends on how committed leadership is to making it work and whether they’re in it for the long-term.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and make sure your training works?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy