Self-Consciousness

Self-Awareness and Reducing Negative Thoughts - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Reducing Negative Thoughts

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Self-awareness can help you reduce negative thoughts because, when you understand yourself well, you are able to focus your thinking in a positive direction. Negative thoughts can keep you from being the person you really want to be. Here are some examples of negative thoughts guaranteed to hold you back:

  • I can’t do this.
  • I’m not good enough.
  • I’ll never succeed.
  • I’m a loser.
  • My parents, siblings, friends, teachers, co-workers, and acquaintances were right about me.
  • I’ll never amount to anything.
  • My dreams don’t matter.
  • I’ll never be who I really want to be.
  • That’s impossible.
  • People like me can’t do those types of things.
  • I’ll continue doing what we’ve always done.
  • You can’t change.
  • Life is hard.
  • I always have bad luck.
  • I guess I’ll settle for this.
  • I prefer to be safe and comfortable.
  • Something bad is going to happen.
  • I’ll look stupid.

Imagine what your life will look like if you say things like these to yourself. As you increase your self-awareness, your thoughts will become more positive because you’ll be working toward being the real you, not these statements that tear you down. As you think more clearly and positively, you’ll be better able to take positive action to improve your life. The key to success is to think in ways that lead in a positive direction and help you be the real you.

What will you do to increase your self-awareness and reduce your negative thoughts?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence in Relationships - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence in Relationships

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Have you ever had a relationship that isn’t going well and you have no idea how to improve it? Do you have a pattern of relationships that are permeated with discomfort and conflict?

In order to develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence in relationships, it is vital to to start building up your ability to deal with and manage your own emotions, as well as how you relate to other people’s emotions. Here are some examples of self-awareness and emotional intelligence in relationships:

  • One person gets angry and the other person recognizes that there is an emotion under there and simply listens to the other person talk about it.
  • Something stressful is happening in the relationship and both individuals are able to identify their emotions and use them to improve the situation.
  • An emotion comes up and the other person doesn’t feel threatened and doesn’t react or fight back.
  • Both individuals in the relationship are comfortable with their own emotions and each others’.
  • Both individuals have empathy for the other.
  • Both individuals are able to reason and problem solve because they can manage their own emotions.
  • The relationship has a natural, calm, safe, healthy feeling.

Imagine how you would feel if the examples above were a part of your relationships. How many of these things do you currently do? Most people don’t have relationships like this because they haven’t learned how build self-awareness and use their emotions positively. Here are some ideas on how to start being self-aware, comfortable with your and other people’s emotions, and create more enjoyable relationships:

  • Learn to identify and name the emotion you’re feeling, and do the same for other people.
  • Shift from seeing your emotions as a threat or something to be avoided and start feeling them and using them to move in a positive direction.
  • Learn how to experience your emotions and see them as a normal part of life.
  • Learn how to deal with and manage your emotions so you can make positive decisions.
  • Stop reacting to other people, let them experience their emotions without getting in the way or making it about you.
  • Stop thinking that other people are trying to harm you with their emotions.
  • Learn how to just observe and listen when other people are experiencing an emotion. Ask open-ended questions like, “What are you feeling?” or “What’s going on?” and just be there for them.

The key to building self-awareness and emotional intelligence in relationships is to practice feeling what’s going on inside you, be there for the other person when he/she is feeling something, and then using your self-awareness and emotions to take action in a positive manner. This process requires practice but, over time, you’ll enjoy much deeper, stronger, happier relationships.

What will you do to increase the self-awareness and emotional intelligence in your relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Finding Purpose in Life - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Finding Purpose in Life

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Finding purpose in life can be a daunting challenge. There are countless people out there right at this moment who don’t know who they are or what they really want to do in life. That’s a recipe for a lot of confusion and fear. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to increase your self-awareness and find your purpose in life:

  • What would I do in life if money were no object?
  • What do I love doing more than anything else?
  • What brings me great fulfillment when I’m doing it?
  • What do I want to do in life that doesn’t involve other people?
  • What is my true path in life and what am I doing to follow it?
  • What am I doing to celebrate who I really am deep inside?

When you ask yourself questions like these, you build self-awareness and start moving in the direction of your dreams. Having a purpose in life isn’t a mystery, it just requires that you look deep inside, figure out who you are, and follow your own path.

What will you do to improve your self-awareness and find purpose in life?

Cheers,

Guy

15 Benefits of Developing Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

15 Benefits of Developing Self-Awareness

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Here are fifteen benefits of developing self-awareness:

  1. You heal the hurts from your past.
  2. You’re in touch with your emotions, are able to feel them, and can use them to move in a positive direction. You’re also comfortable with other people’s emotions.
  3. You understand your strengths and areas for improvement.
  4. You treat yourself and others with kindness, empathy, and compassion.
  5. You do things to make the world a better place.
  6. You focus on the deeper things in life rather than living superficially.
  7. You get to know the real you and live your life accordingly.
  8. You let go of the need for power and control and focus instead on being the best person you can be without dominating others or having to win.
  9. People like you at home and at work.
  10. You don’t have the constant internal conflict of saying one thing and doing another.
  11. You’re generally happy and balanced, even in difficult situations.
  12. You understand why you feel, think, and do things.
  13. You learn and grow each day.
  14. You become a nice person.
  15. You enjoy life.

When you develop self-awareness you have a wonderful opportunity to move beyond all the garbage that creates conflict, chaos, confusion, and misery in your life and focus instead on living a kind, joyful, deeply introspective and fulfilling existence. When you’re fully self-aware, you no longer live day to day, reacting to everything, you get to be the real you and do what you really love in life.

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Means Looking Inside Yourself - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Means Looking Inside Yourself

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Self-awareness means looking inside yourself rather than relying on outside influences, entities, or events to make you happy in life. Countless people spend inordinate amounts of time living based on what some outside person or entity tells them to do, or reacting to whatever circumstance they find themselves in, rather than charting a course based on who they are deep inside and what they find meaningful and fulfilling. The key to being truly happy in life is being able to look inside yourself and:

  • Define who you really are.
  • Discover your true inner voice.
  • Determine what you really want to do in life.
  • Figure out what you need to do to live authentically.

When you do these things you’ll live life based on what’s inside you rather than always reacting to outside people and situations. It’s up to you whether you live life consciously or passively. What will you do to look inside yourself?

Cheers,

Guy

Lack of Self-Awareness Leads to Sick People and Sick Societies - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Lack of Self-Awareness Leads to Sick People and Sick Societies

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Sick people build sick societies, which is the opposite of what self-aware, happy, healthy people do. Here are some of the signs of a lack of self-awareness that lead to a sick society:

  • People don’t like themselves and, by extension, each other.
  • People are territorial and against sharing.
  • Propensity toward violence to resolve disputes.
  • Us vs. them mentality.
  • Unable to build healthy relationships at every level, including with oneself, other people, and other nations.
  • Belief that improving one’s mental health is not possible or important.
  • Little value put on introspection or self-awareness.
  • Culture of materialism and greed.
  • Very little collaboration because everything is a competition.
  • Living in fear.

People in unhealthy societies will tend to lack self-awareness and believe that these types of behaviors are the only option they have, but there are countless other ways to build a more positive society; using impulses and skills that people have in them at this very moment. Picture a society where people make the shift toward being self-aware and building a healthy world, they might do things like:

  • Become as healthy as they can and help others do the same.
  • Share with others.
  • Resolve disputes without violence.
  • Embrace differences and diversity.
  • Build healthy relationships.
  • Value improving one’s mental health.
  • Value introspection and self-awareness.
  • Value kindness and compassion over greed.
  • Work together to build a better world for as many people as possible.
  • Live with courage and openness.

The irony of the second list is that, as human beings, we can do any of these things right this moment if we choose to do so. The only reason we don’t do them is because we’re stuck in the type of thinking that says we can’t be healthy at any level: personally, interpersonally, or globally. What will you do to increase your self-awareness and build a healthy society?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Better Team Building - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Better Team Building

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Self-awareness leads to better team building because participants are able to look at how their own emotions, thoughts, and actions lead to creating a healthier, more high-functioning organization where people get along and work well together.

I facilitate many team building workshops and the participants sometimes get confused when they realize they aren’t going to be climbing a tree or catching each other as they fall backward. It’s a natural reaction because a lot of what is presented as team building might actually be team bonding. Here’s the difference:

Team Building

  • Focuses on behaviors and their effect on workplace functioning.
  • Helps people learn how to work with each other and get along well.
  • Builds skills like communication, planning, problem-solving and conflict resolution.
  • Builds empathy and compassion.
  • Encourages long-term behavior change.
  • Helps people build genuine connections.
  • Is practiced over time.
  • Encourages deeper discussion and processing.

Team Bonding

  • Focus on fun activities.
  • Brings people together by encouraging collaboration and teamwork.
  • Helps people see each other in a different light.
  • Allows people to connect in a different setting.
  • Usually a one-time activity.
  • Helps people get out of the workplace and relax.
  • Encourages people to have fun together.
  • Sometimes asks people to think about the implications of the activities on their workplace.

The major difference between the two approaches is that team building is a long-term process that encourages self-awareness and creates behavioral change while team bonding tends to be a short-term, fun experience. If you’re looking for a quick pick-me-up then team bonding is your thing. If you’re looking at foundation building and long-term change then team building will help you get there.

As a leader, you get to choose what kind of workplace you create. I’ve found that highly successful (and happy) organizations commit to a long-term team building approach that helps people build self-awareness to think and behave in ways that benefit them and their work environment. Learning effective team building takes time and effort but it creates lasting success and a company culture that encourages positive behaviors. What will you do to develop self-awareness and promote effective team building in your organization?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy