Self-Consciousness Archives – Page 8 of 31

Self-Awareness Helps You Choose Courage over Fear

December 7, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-awareness helps you choose courage over fear because life has a way of creating challenging situations whether you want them or not. When these difficult circumstances present themselves you have a choice as to whether you think and behave based on fear or courage. Each approach leads you in a different direction and only one helps you live a more balanced, happy life. Lets look at a few examples of the difference between the two:

Fear: I’ve always done it this way.
Courage: I can try something new.

Fear: I hate change.
Courage: I see change as an opportunity.

Fear: That issue is too daunting and complex.
Courage: I can resolve the issue little by little.

Fear: I need to control everything and everyone around me.
Courage: I’m fine with letting go of control.

Fear: That’s unfamiliar and strange.
Courage: I can learn something from it.

Fear: Self-awareness is for people who eat granola.
Courage: I’m willing to learn about myself and others.

Living in fear limits your opportunities while thinking and acting with courage helps you deal with any situation that comes your way. The idea in life is to think and behave in ways that help you be more flexible and resilient, not less. What will you do to develop self-awareness so you can choose courage over fear?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Can Help You Practice Effective Team Building

December 2, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

A lot of leaders and organizations want to practice effective team building but don’t have the self-awareness to actually do it. I often hear people in workplaces saying things out loud that illustrate why they aren’t building teams, but they’re not aware they’re doing it. People have beliefs hardwired inside them that they don’t even realize get in the way of bringing employees together and encouraging them to collaborate. Here are ten of the most prevalent beliefs that show a lack of self-awareness and that block team building.

They’ll never get along. If you believe people won’t get along they’ll prove you right almost every time.
We’re rugged individualists. Individuals functioning in this way aren’t as adept at working in teams as people who believe in collaboration.
If you want it done right do it yourself. If you’re doing everything it leaves your team stranded and feeling like they can’t do anything right.
Teams must have a strong leader. It’s often the strong leader that gets in the way of everyone having a voice and participating actively.
Collaboration was fine in kindergarten but this is the real world. If you believe this then I know how you practice team building.
Everybody has a specific job. This keeps people firmly in their boxes and discourages creativity.
Team building is secondary to productivity. Many leaders overlook the idea that if you build a strong foundation of high-functioning teams you become more productive.
Team building is too touchy-feely. Leaders who believe this create workplaces that only allow three feelings: forced happiness, fear and anger.
I don’t have to participate. Nothing says you lack commitment to team building than not participating in it with your employees.
I don’t have time for team building. This is like saying you don’t have time to build a roof over your building because you’ve got to get to work and then it rains and soaks everything.

Self-aware leaders understand that team building is a vital building block to create workplaces where people interact positively and help each other get things done. The way you actually build teams is to have the self-awareness to objectively review and understand the team building strengths and areas for improvement in your workplace and take action in small increments over time. You might offer ongoing team building training or provide opportunities for people to work together to solve problems. Some organizations form brainstorming groups that tackle thorny issues. The idea is to gradually build a workplace where working collaboratively is encouraged. What will you do to create a culture of self-awareness and team building in your organization?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Can Help You Talk about Difficult Topics

November 27, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-awareness can help you talk about difficult topics with others because, the more you know yourself, the better able you are to have complex conversations with others.

There’s a frequently recited adage that you shouldn’t talk about religion and politics in polite company, advice created by people who don’t know how to talk about charged topics without getting angry or hurt. The key to effective communication is for the participants to have the self-awareness to realize that other people’s ideas, beliefs, values and opinions aren’t necessarily an attack on their own, just another perspective. Here are some ideas that will help you talk about difficult issues in your personal or professional life:

Go in with good intentions. Keep an open mind and engage in the conversation with the idea that you’re going to learn something and that you’ll do everything you can to make sure things go well.

Assume the other person isn’t trying to hurt you. Interact based on the premise that you’re having a positive two-way conversation, not that you’re walking into a life-threatening ambush.

Listen to the other person. Don’t talk, interrupt or give your opinion, just listen actively and learn about the other person’s point of view whether you agree with it or not.

Practice self-awareness. Be aware of your own thoughts, feelings and actions and manage them so you don’t get angry or defensive.

Stay calm. Communication doesn’t have to be a contact sport, it can be calm and pleasant.

Resist the urge to fight back. Increase your chances of interacting positively by keeping yourself under control.

Avoid participating in an argument. Look at the conversation as an opportunity to learn about another perspective instead of creating conflict.

Realize the other person’s point of view is just a point of view. No matter what someone says, it doesn’t mean that you have to change your values or beliefs.

Know when to back off. Sometimes people aren’t ready or able to talk about a certain topic. Let them know you’re available to talk when they’re ready.

Individuals who understand and master these skills are able to talk about any issue because their communication style shifts from confrontational to actively listening to what other people are saying. Virtually nothing someone else says merits an explosive reaction unless you decide it does. The key to effective communication is to move from reacting viscerally to consciously working on listening, learning and getting along with the other person. What will you do to increase your self-awareness so you’re able to talk about difficult topics?

Cheers,

Guy

Using Self-Awareness to Overcome Your Fears

November 27, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

You can use self-awareness to overcome your fears because, the more you understand your emotions, thoughts, and actions, the easier it is to not be scared of things.

Fear often keeps us repeating the same patterns, even to the extent of repeating behaviors we dislike. We get stuck doing the same thing over and over and don’t see a way out. Overcoming fears is a challenge we avoid because we tend to hang on to the familiar rather than the unknown.

The paradoxical thing is that the unknown can often lead us in new and wonderful directions we couldn’t even imagine when we started out. Facing your fears is a matter of finding out what they are, where they come from and taking action to move in a different direction. Here is what some smart people have to say about the subject.

Bonaro W. Overstreet

Perhaps the most important thing we can undertake toward the reduction of fear is to make it easier for people to accept themselves, to like themselves.

Don Miguel Ruiz:

Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive — the risk to be alive and express what we really are.

Dorothy Thompson:

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.

Eleanor Roosevelt:

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. What will you do to use your self-awareness to move beyond fear?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Healing Your Hurts

November 2, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-awareness helps you begin healing your hurts by encouraging you to take a conscious look at the things that bring you discomfort in life and that need some attention. Many people walk through life carrying some unresolved pain that keeps them from being a genuinely happy, expansive person. It’s impossible to live fully or authentically if you allow certain memories to hold you back. The good news is that you can use self-awareness to examine who you are and deal with the challenges from your past.

Healing your hurts isn’t easy because you have to revisit parts of your life that may be unpleasant. The key to successfully moving past the pain is to acknowledge it’s there and do everything in your power to resolve it and move past it. Once you understand and deal with the thoughts and emotions related to difficult issues, you provide yourself a new opportunity to live based on the wonderful things about you rather than being held back by the pain. What will you do to use self-awareness to start healing your hurts?

Cheers,

Guy

Characteristics of a Self-Aware Person

October 28, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

The key to self-awareness is to understand how your thoughts, emotions and behaviors affect you and others so that you can live a deeply meaningful, fulfilling life without the junk that gets in the way of being effective, balanced or happy. Here are some of the characteristics of a self-aware person:

You’re willing to look at yourself honestly.
You let go of what doesn’t work.
You celebrate the things you do well.
You understand how your behaviors affect others.
You work on being as healthy as possible.
You work on living a life of balance instead of extremes.
You say you’re happy only when you really are.
You continue taking steps to understand yourself.
You allow yourself to be vulnerable.
You keep learning about yourself.
You work toward achieving enlightenment.
You’re comfortable with being touchy-feely.
You work on resolving the psychological issues that hold you back.
You feel your emotions.
You live your life authentically.
You take steps every day to make your dreams come true.

Imagine if you did things like these and how your life would be impacted. Remember that you don’t have to do everything at once, pick one thing you’d like to work on and practice it until it becomes second nature, then move on to the next. Over time, you’ll become a more self-aware person.

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Are Non-Mainstream

October 23, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-aware people are non-mainstream because they are in touch with their own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, and are able to follow their own inner voices and live the way they want to without worrying about what others think or say.

I’m not a mainstream type of person. I tend to like things that are different, quirky, silly, offbeat, emotionally complex, and that elicit deeper thought. I could care less about rules, fitting in, or society’s expectations of me. I live in a place in the universe where I’m immersed in feelings and an exciting swirl of creativity. I’m constantly and continually building my self-awareness.

Too often, we’re told that we should toe the line, follow the rules, not stick out or be self-aware, and many other types of soul-crushing suggestions. In my experience, these recommendations only lead to misery and self-loathing. People are profoundly unhappy when they don’t have self-awareness and can’t express who they really are. The antidote is to follow your inner voice and live courageously and joyfully as the real you. Here are five ways to be non-mainstream:

Identify what you really want to do in life and do it each day.
Don’t pay attention to what others say, follow your own inner voice.
Have confidence in your abilities.
Embrace the things that are different and unique about you.
Have the courage to live as the real you.

Life is much richer when there’s variety and eccentricity mixed into it instead of everyone being the same. Don’t be afraid of being who you really are, you’ll live a much happier life when you have the courage to do your own thing. What will you do to develop self-awareness, avoid being mainstream, and enjoy being yourself?

Cheers,

Guy