Self-Consciousness Archives – Page 24 of 31

Self-Awareness and Being an Independent Thinker

March 30, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-awareness means understanding who you are and why you think the way you do so you can be your own person. Every time I’ve let other people think for me, I’ve felt powerless and have been unhappy with the results. It’s very common in our society to undermine people’s natural gifts and talents by telling them what to do. There’s no shortage of “helpful” advice to guide those who are seeking something or are just used to getting their answers from the outside, but it robs them of their ability to control their own destinies.

The key to living a meaningful, fulfilling life is to listen to yourself and follow your own path rather than one prescribed by someone else. When I discovered that I could think for myself, I began honoring the person I really am and following my own natural course. I now wake up each day and do what I want to do instead of what someone else tells me to.

People who value self-awareness tend to be independent thinkers who listen to their own inner voices. They do their own thing, arrive at their own conclusions, and live more genuinely happy lives.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and be an independent thinker?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Living Superficially

March 29, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

If you possess a high level of self-awareness you’re probably not living superficially, which means that you enjoy life on a deeper level. People who don’t know themselves well tend to think, feel and behave in ways that are almost exclusively superficial and, ultimately, unfulfilling. The more you understand yourself the easier it is for you to go below the surface and appreciate the nuance and complexity inside and around you. There are many benefits to going deeper:

You get to live your life based on your real dreams, talents, and abilities.
You get to connect with others on a more meaningful level.
You enjoy fulfilling conversations and interactions.
You know more about yourself and understand others more completely.
People know the real you.
Your relationships are based on deeper interaction.
You share yourself with the world.
You’re genuinely happy.

Some people go through their entire lives living superficially and miss out on all the rich, gratifying experiences that living more deeply provides. What will you do to keep increasing your self-awareness and move beyond living superficially?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Experiencing Joy in Life

March 28, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

When I coach people who lack self-awareness they often tell me they have difficulty experiencing joy in their lives. Joy is a wonderful concept which I define as experiencing pure bliss and contentment. Joy is also complex in that we could not experience it if we did not also experience pain. A life of perpetual joy would soon begin to feel bland, so we need the ups and downs that come with everyday experience.

How do you define joy? Joy can be that moment at which you feel complete happiness and want for nothing else. It can be gazing into someone’s eyes whom you love or doing something that means a lot to you. Joy is what we experience when we work through difficulties and as we let go of the things that bring us down. Here’s what some smart people have to say about the matter:

Pearl S. Buck:

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.

Audre Lorde:

The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference.

Kahlil Gibran:

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?

Feeling joy in life arises from doing the work necessary to heal your hurts and learning how to manage your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It requires deliberate and continuous effort, but the rewards are wonderful.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and experience joy in life?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Dealing with People Who Don’t Understand You

March 27, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

A big part of self-awareness is realizing that you’re wonderful no matter how others react to you. Some people will never understand the value of what you do, no matter how hard you try to convince them. I learned this lesson through personal experience in many settings as I tried to enlighten people on what I had to offer and was met with blank stares. I would go home feeling dejected and worthless, but looking forward to the next time I would see them, that’s when I would undoubtedly get them on my side. It never worked.

One day I woke up and realized that I didn’t have to convince people of my worth. If they didn’t get it, it didn’t matter because there were others out there who would. Once I learned this valuable bit of information, I started to focus my energy on connecting with the people who understood me, which has made a huge difference in my life. I now interact daily with vibrant, insightful, kind people who love self-awareness.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and deal with people who don’t understand what you do?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Begins with Self-Reflection

March 26, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy - 2 Comments

True self-awareness begins with self-reflection, the process of examining and understanding what you think, feel and do. A lot of people are able to recognize that they think or do something but are unable to consciously change or modify it. Self-reflection means that you do the following:

Be willing to take a candid look at yourself.
Recognize your strengths.
Identify your areas for improvement.
Learn how to experience your full range of emotions.
Find ways to identify and heal your deepest hurts.
Stop doing things that don’t work.
Think, feel and behave consciously and positively.
Move from being reactive to proactive.
Be willing to learn, grow and change.
Be open to new experiences.

There’s a big difference between saying you’re self-aware and actually knowing who you really are. Genuine self-awareness requires constant, ongoing reflection, exploration, and an openness to new perspectives and ideas. What will you do to start your journey of self-reflection?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Helps You Deal with Conflict

March 25, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Many people who lack self-awareness go through life putting out fires and reacting to whatever conflict comes their way rather than trying to prevent it. We often spend much of our time focusing on the issue on the surface but don’t do anything to resolve the underlying situation. Think about the last time you had a fight with someone you loved. What was it about? Did you fix it? Did it go away permanently? Think of the following points next time you are in conflict with someone

What is this conflict really about?
What am I feeling inside and where does that come from?
Do I really care whether the toilet seat is up or is it about something else?
What is it about me that compels me to fight about this?
What do I need to do to fix this situation?

When you ask yourself questions like these you begin the process of understanding yourself. It is this self-awareness that helps us figure out who we really are at a deeper level. We spend so much time fighting about things that are only the tip of the real problem that lies below. Think about it next time you get upset. Am I really mad about the lid being left off the jar or is it that I feel like no one cares about me?

Once you figure out what’s really going on you can begin doing the important work to actually fix your relationship and life conflicts. What will you do to develop self-awareness and actually deal with conflict?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Keep Moving Forward

March 25, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

The only way to make anything happen in your life is to build up your self-awareness and keep moving forward. Many people give up on their dreams because things get difficult or don’t work out the way they thought they would. They don’t realize that they’ll always encounter some type of roadblock, things rarely unfold exactly like we wish they would. The key to success is to keep going instead of staying stuck.

When you possess self-awareness, you’re able to take a candid look at yourself and realize that you have the ability to move in the direction of your dreams. A positive approach that works for me is to just take small steps each day toward something I want to achieve. Each day I build my body of work and my connections to other people who appreciate what I do. It’s a gradual, low-stress, ongoing process that builds over time.

What do you do to keep moving forward?

Cheers,

Guy