Self-Consciousness Archives – Page 7 of 31

Self-Awareness and Being Kind to Yourself

March 16, 2024 - The Self-Awareness Guy

People are frequently quite hard on themselves and are constantly concerned about how well they are doing things. The key in life is to develop your self-awareness so you can truly understand your strengths and areas for improvement instead of just berating yourself over everything. Try this three-step process every day to start being kind with yourself.

1. Praise yourself for something you did today.
2. Do something positive that you enjoy.
3. Repeat every day.

Getting in the habit of doing these simple things can feel different at first but, over time, it leads to us doing things that make us feel good. It’s great when we can rely on ourselves rather than others to make us feel good. As you build your self-awareness you will begin to understand how to channel your emotions, thoughts, and behavior in a positive direction.

Next time you feel completely stressed out and about to explode, take a moment and try these steps instead of being hard on yourself. You are an amazing human being who deserves caring and affection. What will you do to be more self-aware and kind to yourself?

Cheers,

Guy

Characteristics of Someone with Self-Awareness

March 6, 2024 - The Self-Awareness Guy

People frequently ask me to describe the characteristics of someone with self-awareness, here are some examples:

They’re in touch with their emotions and are comfortable with them, even when they’re unpleasant or difficult.
They’re comfortable with other people’s emotions.
Their thinking matches objective reality; they don’t make up scenarios that aren’t based on demonstrable fact.
They’re able to manage their thinking patterns and move even their most difficult thoughts in a positive direction.
Their actions lead in a positive direction for them and for others.
They deeply understand their strengths as well as their areas for improvement.
They’re always working on becoming the best version of themselves possible.
They work hard to heal their inner hurts, preferably by going to a professional therapist.
They’re genuinely happy with who they are deep inside.
They follow their dreams.
They live as themselves.
They’re open to new people, ideas, challenges and changes.
They relate well to others and build positive relationships.
They treat themselves and others with kindness and compassion.
They make the world a better place because they’re so comfortable with themselves that they’re able to freely help others.

Imagine your life if you possessed any number of these qualities. The wonderful thing is you can achieve them all if you choose to actively develop your self-awareness.

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware Leadership and Developing a Clear Vision for Your Organization

February 25, 2024 - The Self-Awareness Guy

There are countless leaders who let their organizations drag them along as they hold on for dear life. For them, every workday is another exercise in reacting and trying to manage chaos. There’s a significant difference between letting your organization happen to you and having the self-awareness to make things happen proactively.

Do you have a clear vision at this moment of where you want to take your organization? If the answer is no, then ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I doing what I really want to do in my organization?

2. Do I feel successful and fulfilled when I leave work?

3. Does my organization build me up as a professional?

4. Do I have clear goals for the future of my organization?

5. Do I have a strategy or plan for how I will lead?

The answers to these questions will give you an idea of where your leadership could take your organization. Sometimes the only difference between leaders who succeed and those who don’t is their ability to plan proactively.

When you are actively working on developing your self-awareness, you’ll be able to asses your strengths and areas for improvement, thus making it easier to come up with a plan that moves your organization in a positive direction.

Take a moment this week to ask yourself these questions and to start planning your future success rather than reacting to whatever comes your way. You’ll enjoy having a clearer vision of your organization’s progress. What will you do to practice self-aware leadership and develop a clear vision for your company?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Can Help You Change Your Life

February 15, 2024 - The Self-Awareness Guy

People often ask me how to change their lives. The answer is to build up your self-awareness, which enables you to heal the hurts from your past and focus on positive emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to move forward. Changing your life requires deliberate action over time, there are no quick fixes.

The next time you are wondering how to change your life, try using the following steps to transform your situation.

1. Think of what you want to change.
2. Devise a strategy to change it.
3. Pick one goal.
3. Pick one task you can do to start achieving your goal.
4. Check in with yourself in a week to see if you achieved the goal.
5. If the goal needs revising, do so. If you’ve completed it, move to the next goal.
6. Reward yourself each time you complete a goal. No overindulging please.

It’s one thing to want to change your life, it’s quite another to actually do it. It requires a plan and conscious action over time. Put one foot in front of the other and strive to complete your goals. It’s normal to feel like giving up, just keep taking one small step at a time. You’ll eventually see the results.

No life change is easy. They all take deliberate effort but people achieve their goals all the time. There is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do so as well. What will you do to develop your self-awareness and change your life?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Means Treating Yourself and Others Well

January 11, 2024 - The Self-Awareness Guy

As you build your self-awareness, you’ll likely understand that how you treat yourself often predicts how you will treat others. If you feel horrible about yourself, chances are you’ll treat others the same way. There are countless cautionary examples of people who don’t feel healthy inside and the destruction they wreak on their own psyches, the people they interact with, and the world. If you feel great, then you’re bound to create good vibes in the world, which is what happy, balanced people do.

A great way to feel wonderful about yourself is to increase your self-awareness by consciously looking deep inside and deciding who the real you is. Who are you at your very core? What do you really want to do with your life? Once you answer questions like these you can start doing things to live authentically. As you become a more fulfilled and balanced person, you’ll naturally treat yourself and other people wonderfully for all the right reasons.

How do you treat yourself and others?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Perseverance

December 22, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Perseverance is one of the most important traits a person can possess and is part of self-awareness. People who are able to understand and manage their own emotions, thoughts, and actions persevere more and move past the challenges in their lives.

To me it means having the self-awareness necessary to move forward and trust my inner voice no matter what happens. Very often, talented people will stifle their work or choose a “safer” career path because of what they heard from well-meaning people as they were growing up. I’ve found it helpful to keep going in spite of any inside and outside disparagement and just do my thing.

It doesn’t take superhuman effort to keep going, simply do one small thing each day that helps you continue your journey. Keep building your self-awareness so you can continue clarifying what you really want to do in life. Repeated modest actions will eventually add up to a great body of work and deep fulfillment. How will you build up your self-awareness and keep persevering?

Cheers,

Guy

Leadership, Lack of Self-Awareness, and Workplace Communication

December 12, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Most leaders will tell you that communication is vital to a well-functioning workplace. Then they demonstrate their lack of self-awareness by screaming, ignoring, dominating, misunderstanding or annoying their employees. There is a huge gap between what leaders say they know about effective communication and what they actually practice. Here are five of the biggest workplace communication mistakes.

1. Not listening. How can you gather the information you need or figure out what is going on in your workplace if you don’t listen? You can’t. Listening is the most vital skill to acquire information, promote collaboration and build trust in the workplace.

2. Assuming you know what the other person is going to say. Cutting people off because you’ve “heard it all before” or you’re irritated is a great way to tell your employees they don’t matter. Try listening to your employees without interrupting before you decide you know what they’re talking about.

3. Thinking of the next thing you want to say instead of what the other person is saying. Many leaders are obsessed with the next wonderful thing they’re going to say. Fight this urge by clearing your mind before and while you’re listening to your employees and focusing on understanding what they’re saying.

4. Getting angry or upset and reacting negatively to what you’re hearing. Your employees will be much less likely to share information or ideas with you if you always fly off the handle. Communication doesn’t have to be a constant struggle. Work on controlling your own emotions so you can communicate on a deeper level with your employees.

5. Not setting aside time to talk. Hurried conversations often end up in misunderstandings because the participants haven’t devoted the time necessary to get on the same page. Make sure your important conversations are carried out with plenty of time for each participant to understand what’s being said.

Do you recognize yourself in any of these five concepts? If so, no worries, simply make small adjustments to develop your self-awareness and move toward a more balanced communication style that will get you better results. Effective communication is about practicing positive behaviors every day, not just saying you do. What will you do to increase your self-awareness and practice effective communication?

Cheers,

Guy