Self-Consciousness

Self-Aware People Are the True Optimists

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A lot of people who lack self-awareness say they’re optimists but feel, think, and behave in profoundly pessimistic or negative ways, to the point of hurting themselves or others.

Being a true optimist means you’re consistently open to increasing your self-awareness, following an authentic path in life, and behaving hopefully and positively. You can’t claim to look on the bright side if you spread negative vibes in some other part of your life.

Real optimists make life better not only for themselves but for everyone else. They believe that the world can be a kind, peaceful place where people treat each other with empathy and care.

I love consulting for self-aware people because they aren’t afraid to examine who they are, warts and all, and keep moving forward fearlessly. It takes courage to look at the difficult things in life and keep learning and growing rather than pretending you’re doing OK while you’re really hurting inside.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and be a true optimist?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Making Things More Difficult for Others

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One of the characteristics of someone who lacks self-awareness is making things more difficult for others. When you don’t know yourself well, you can’t pull back far enough to realize how your behavior affects other people so you might do things like:

  • Treat people poorly.
  • Behave without empathy.
  • Think the whole world should bend to your point of view.
  • Frequently create situations that damage other people.
  • Do things that make others work harder.
  • Create a pattern of negative interactions and relationships.
  • Complicate things to gain power or control.
  • Make unrealistic demands.
  • Act as a gatekeeper.
  • Fail to take responsibility for your actions.

The antidote to these behaviors is to get to know yourself on a deeper level and become genuinely comfortable with who you are. The happier you are, the less stress you’ll create for others because you won’t be working out your personal issues on them. What will you do to make things less difficult for others?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Your Worldview

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Your level of self-awareness deeply affects your worldview. If you believe that the world is an unforgiving place where people can’t be trusted or want to harm you then you’ll live your life in a particular way. If, on the other hand, you see the world as a place where people can be trusted and are generally well-meaning you’ll behave in other ways. Your worldview colors everything you do in life and will lead you down a certain path which can be beneficial or full of hindrances.

In order to increase your self-awareness and enjoy life, take some time to ask yourself where your assumptions about the world come from. Identify the beliefs you hold that keep you from living happily and take action to shift them in a more positive direction. For example: If you believe that you can’t talk with someone, consciously decide that you’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and communicate with them in a way that invites them to connect with you. It takes deliberate effort and courage to shift your worldview but it can help you live much more meaningfully. What will you do to create a positive worldview?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Are Compassionate

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When you practice compassion as part of your  self-awareness journey you’ll find that you’re able to care for yourself and others. Compassion is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and treat them with care and kindness. In doing so you create positive energy in your life and in the world as well.

Compassionate human beings understand that they are not the only people in the world, that other individuals and groups have a different and valid experience. When you practice compassion, you are able to put your own experience and needs aside, really empathize with someone else, and recognize when they need help.

As you build your self-awareness, you will find that you become more comfortable and better able to manage your own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, which will enable you to connect with others on a more meaningful level. The healthier you are, the more you are in a position to help others.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and practice compassion?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Work on Healing Their Hurts

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When you don’t heal your psychological hurts you live a life avoiding, accommodating, and tiptoeing around how you feel inside while never getting to the core of what’s really going on or developing self-awareness.

Unfortunately, people’s pain doesn’t only affect them, it spreads to others and creates all kinds of undesirable situations at home or at work. When people don’t heal their own hurts, they create discomfort in living rooms and board rooms and the consequences include:

  • Toxic families.
  • Broken marriages.
  • Damaged kids.
  • People who don’t like themselves or others.
  • Chronic conflict.
  • Unresolved issues.
  • Workplaces where people treat each other horribly.
  • Gossip.
  • Organizations that promote negative behaviors.
  • Ongoing retribution.
  • Punitive, controlling or capricious leadership.
  • Hurting others to cover for your hurts.
  • Insecurity and ego.
  • Lack of empathy.

Do any of these sound familiar? They happen all the time but, fortunately, you can interrupt these types of situations by increasing your self-awareness: Understand why you do things and how to move in a more positive direction.

The process of healing your hurts isn’t easy but it dramatically increases your quality of life and, by extension, the lives of everyone around you as well as well-being of the world. The way to get started is to acknowledge you have a hurt and then tend to it consciously and deliberately until it goes away.

What will you do to build self-awareness and start healing your hurts?

Cheers,

Guy

Dealing with Emotions Is a Normal Part of Self-Awareness

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Dealing with your emotions is a normal part of self-awareness. It’s not the emotions that cause problems in life, it’s what you do with them. Focus on being in touch with your emotions and understanding that they aren’t good or bad, they’re just there to tell you that something is happening. Experience them fully and use them to move forward positively.

The more in tune you are with your emotions, the easier it will be to deal with the challenges and successes that come your way. We are taught in our culture that we have to hide our emotions or that there are only a few approved emotions but, in actuality, what you feel inside is just a signal that there is something that needs attention.

Every time you experience an emotion it’s an opportunity to move forward in a positive direction. If you’re happy, you can enjoy the moment, if you’re angry, sad, or fearful, you can use those emotions to learn and grow. The trick is not to try to avoid emotions, simply learn how to experience and manage them in a healthy manner.

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

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Requires Looking at Yourself

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It’s nearly impossible to increase your self-awareness if you’re unwilling to take an honest look at yourself. A lot of people stumble on this point because they think that it means tearing themselves down or making themselves feel worse. In actuality, taking a look at yourself is the process of discovering who you are. It means finding out what you do well and what needs some attention.

If you’re afraid of examining who you really are, think of it this way: All you’re doing is looking at the things you do well and the things that you could improve to live an even happier life. Self-awareness is about understanding yourself clearly and becoming the best version of you possible.

It’s only through careful and thoughtful examination of your thoughts and behaviors that you’ll be able to decide where you want to go. Taking a look at yourself means you’re willing to work on the things that will make you more effective.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and continue to look at yourself?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy