Self and Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness and the Five Steps to Success - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and the Five Steps to Success

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Many people I consult with, and who lack self-awareness, ask me if there is a secret to success. There really isn’t a secret, it just requires purposeful action, which means that we are fully conscious and have thought about every action that we take. We don’t leave things to chance except when appropriate and we consciously do things to improve our self-awareness and keep working on the issues in our lives that require attention.

Think of success in terms of practical things you can do to move in whatever direction you want. The following steps will help you achieve what you want in life but there is one caveat: you have to take action.

  1. Define what success means to you.
  2. Break your definition into parts and give each one a clear name. These become your goals.
  3. Select one goal you want to work on.
  4. Brainstorm different tasks that will help you achieve your goal.
  5. Pick one task and follow it through to completion.

Use these five steps to keep progressing. Success is based on continuous movement and action. With each action you complete, you become stronger and more successful. Don’t worry too much about what goal you choose or what action to take, it is the act of doing things that creates the change in your life.

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

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Changing Your Life Completely - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Changing Your Life Completely

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At any moment in time, you can change your life completely by deciding to increase your self-awareness and take action to make things happen. Many people settle for whatever comes their way, but you can consciously decide to move beyond the ordinary and live your dreams. Here are some practical ideas to help you shift your trajectory and live meaningfully:

Build Self-Awareness

Deeply understand what you do really well and what you need to improve so you can become the most balanced, fulfilled, effective individual possible. Think in terms of letting go of thoughts and behaviors that don’t work and replacing them with ones that get you better results and make you happier as a person.

Define Your Dreams

Take the time to identify what you would genuinely love to do with your life. Be specific and make sure that whatever you choose resonates inside you. Avoid following someone else’s dreams or ideas of what you should do or what type of person you should be, listen to your own inner voice.

Brainstorm Ideas on How to Make Your Dreams Come True

Sit down and write down as many ideas as possible on how you can make your dreams come true. Stay away from judging your answers or putting limits on what you can or can’t do. Write your ideas down in a stream of consciousness without worrying about things like grammar or what others might think.

Pick One Thing to Begin Working On

Instead of taking on too much and feeling frustrated, pick one item from your brainstorm session and begin working on it. This will allow you to focus your efforts and begin your exciting new journey. It’s much easier to take action when you have a concrete starting point.

Take One Small Step at a Time

You don’t have to do everything at once. Many people falter and get burned out by doing too much rather than focusing on manageable pieces. Try to take one achievable, deliberate step at a time and keep moving forward calmly and purposefully.

People who practice these ideas find that they have less stressful and more fulfilling lives. The key to being truly happy at any point in time is to be self-aware, cognizant of who you are and where you’re going, and take action to keep progressing.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and change your life?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Means Being Conscious of What You Say to Yourself - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Means Being Conscious of What You Say to Yourself

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It’s hard to increase your self-awareness if you have messages floating around in your head that sabotage your progress. It’s important to identify what those messages are so you can move past them. For example: Something inside you says that you can’t start a business; it’s up to you whether you continue to believe that voice or you replace it with something else.

It takes time an effort to change your inner dialogue but, when you do it, you’ll enjoy moving forward with greater self-awareness. Here are some examples of positive things to say to yourself:

  • I am committed to doing the work necessary to figure out who I am and what I want to do in life.
  • I am able to pursue my dreams.
  • I can heal my inner hurts.
  • I am a great person.
  • I have the answers I need deep inside of me.
  • I will listen to myself.
  • I have amazing skills and abilities I can share with the world.
  • I am important and worthwhile.
  • I am able to find meaning inside myself.
  • I love myself.

Try repeating things like these to yourself and you’ll notice how you move in a more favorable direction, with the negative messages playing a smaller and smaller part. The key is to stick to it until the prevailing narrative in your mind is a beneficial one.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and say positive things to yourself?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Helps Interrupt Negative Relationship Patterns - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Helps Interrupt Negative Relationship Patterns

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Self-awareness helps interrupt negative relationship patterns because, when you understand your own and others’ emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, you’re better able to deal with any issue that comes up in a relationship.

Many of us learn how to function in relationships from what we saw our parents do or learned from our friends. The patterns we learn are often hard to move away from even when they are consistently negative or don’t make us feel better as people.

Why is it then that people seem to stay stuck in non-productive relationships rather than working on finding new and more rewarding ways of doing things? In my experience it is due to a lack of self-awareness, comfort with the familiar, and fear of the unknown. As strange as it sounds when viewed objectively, we often stay with what we know because we think it is more comfortable.

The great thing is that we can often experience far greater joy and reward by increasing self-awareness and doing something new. Learning new behaviors that lead us in positive directions can result in resolving chronic relationship problems, finding new and positive relationships and treating ourselves better.

Try this sometime: Examine your existing relationship and decide on one thing that could change to improve the relationship. Work on that one thing consistently over time. Seek outside help if you need an objective point of view. Once you start establishing a new pattern things will begin moving in a different direction.

People often tell me they never knew their relationships were so stuck until they introduced new behaviors. They are often surprised at how good things can get and frequently tell me that they are glad they consciously worked on breaking the patterns they had established in their relationships and trying new ones.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and interrupt negative relationship patterns?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Deal Well with Conflict - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware People Deal Well with Conflict

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When I consult with people who lack self-awareness about conflict resolution the question often comes up, “So what am I supposed to do if someone is getting mad at me?” Though counterintuitive, the answer is that you don’t have to do much, just listen. The next time someone is getting upset while talking with you, try these self-aware techniques:

1. Listen actively.
2. Nod and smile.
3. If you must talk do so only to say, “Tell me more.”

You will be absolutely amazed at the results you will get from simply listening to someone. The trap we fall in is that we think that, when other people are upset, it must be about us. When you give someone the space and opportunity to simply talk and be validated then they will give you much more information than if you engage them in a conflict.

So, give it a try. The next time you are about to get in an argument tell yourself that it is not about you and give the other person the chance to tell you about themselves. Once you master this skill, you will find that many of the conflicts you formerly had will disappear because you will no longer be part of the conflict.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and deal positively with conflict?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Look for Answers Inside - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware People Look for Answers Inside

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People who lack self-awareness spend a lot of time looking to outside sources instead of looking inside themselves for answers to life’s big questions. Living a meaningful life requires building self-awareness so you can get to know who you really are and live a life that reflects your true self. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you look deep inside and find the answers that work for you:

  • What brings me joy?
  • What do I love doing?
  • If money were no object, what would I do?
  • What is my passion in life?
  • What do I find meaningful in life?
  • Who am I?
  • What kind of person am I?
  • What talent of mine would I love to share with the world?
  • What am I willing to do to live my dream life?
  • What holds me back?
  • What motivates me to take action?
  • What’s my definition of the meaning of life?

Take some time to carefully answer all these questions, they will lead you toward living a genuinely fulfilling and happy life. You can find the answers you’re looking for if you’re willing to look within and listen to your inner voice.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and find the answers inside you?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Helps You Treat Yourself Well in Relationships - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Helps You Treat Yourself Well in Relationships

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Self-awareness helps you treat yourself well in relationships because, when you understand why you feel, think, and behave the way you do, you are able to examine yourself, heal your hurts, move in the direction of your dreams, and invite others to join you.

We frequently give ourselves to others in ways that weaken our spirit and take us down a road we don’t want to travel. It’s almost as if we lose our sense of who we are and hand over our destiny to another person.

One of the reasons why relationships stagnate or engender conflict is that the parties have forgotten that they are the most important person in the world. We benefit by first understanding ourselves and working out our own issues and then entering relationships. In this way, relationships become about a connection between two or more healthy people rather than individuals who facilitate each other’s negative behaviors.

Think of yourself as the most important person in the world. Work on yourself first and you will attract people who will enjoy you for who you are, not for what they can get out of you.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and treat yourself well in relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy