The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-Awareness and Treating People with Kindness

July 25, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-awareness leads to treating people with kindness because, when you understand your and others’ emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, you’re able to be more empathic and caring and act in ways that make everyone feel great.

As you work on your self-awareness you’ll be faced with choices on how to behave toward other people. Always remember that the way you treat others is a reflection on how you feel about yourself. Take conscious action to treat people with kindness and you’ll create positive momentum in your own life.

Being kind doesn’t only help other people, it makes you feel great because you spread good vibes in the universe. Each time you think, say, or do something good, you create positive ripples that have a way of making the world a better place.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and treat people with kindness?

Cheers,

Guy

Being Sensitive Is Self-Aware

July 25, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Individuals who lack self-awareness don’t understand their impact on others. When people say things like: “You’re too sensitive,” or “Stop being so sensitive,” I can almost guarantee that someone is in the process of being hurt in some way. It usually happens like this:

Person one says something rude to person two.
Person two gets upset.
Person one says, “You’re too sensitive.”

Being sensitive is a good thing, it means that you’re in touch with your feelings and you’re able to express them, and that’s why it makes people who aren’t well-versed in dealing with emotions uncomfortable. Most people run screaming when they experience an uncomfortable feeling inside themselves or coming from someone else, and they’ll do anything to get away from it.

I love connecting with people who value self-awareness because they know what it’s like to experience the world through heightened emotions. It doesn’t mean they don’t use their brains, it just shows they’re extra intuitive and perceptive about their environment.

If you’re a sensitive person, that’s great. Keep experiencing your feelings and encouraging others to do the same. After all, we’re all thinking, feeling beings. What will you do to develop self-awareness and be sensitive?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and the Closing of the Mind

July 20, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

The closing of the mind occurs when people who lack self-awareness decide that the world is too complicated and difficult and drift toward easy answers to their discomfort instead of looking inward and healing themselves. I’ve noticed over years of helping people build self-awareness that many individuals gravitate toward safe, rigid, ways of thinking and behaving when they face uncertainty. It’s not unusual to want order and predictability in one’s life, but it can easily get in the way of living genuinely and courageously.

When people close their minds and latch onto things that promise them safety and comfort, they lose the ability to be themselves because they’re relying on someone or something else to do the hard work for them. It’s like saying you do something but having someone else do it for you. The good news is that you can open your mind by listening to your inner voice and following your true path in life.

When I share my inner thoughts with the world, I’m exposed, even uncomfortable at times. I show everyone my true self rather than a polished veneer that hides the real me. The reason I write is not because it’s easy, safe, or orderly, but because it keeps my mind flexible, nimble, open, and able to deal with the uncertainties that come my way.

A major element of self-awareness is the ability to keep your mind open to new ideas and experiences instead of running away from difficult issues. What will you do to develop self-awareness and avoid the closing of the mind?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Realizing Life Is Precious

July 20, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Many individuals lack the self-awareness to realize how precious life is and wait until they’re on their deathbeds before they admit they would have liked to resolve certain issues in their lives or behave differently. People often live their lives unconsciously and feel, think, and behave unfavorably or unproductively. I would love for them to ask themselves: If life is precious,

Why would I ever hate someone?
Why would I spend one more moment living in fear?
Why would I let my past hold me back?
Why would I resist change?
Why would I not live every moment to its fullest capacity?
Why would I not pursue my dreams?
Why would I live my life based on my hurts?
Why would I not do everything in my power to treat myself and others well?
Why would I not live a deeply meaningful and enlightened life?

So many people never ask themselves these types of questions, they just exist unconsciously. Luckily, life doesn’t have to be a sequence of reactions to unforeseen events, you can decide to move it in any direction you wish. It’s possible to keep building your self-awareness so you can live courageously and authentically instead of doing stuff that gets in the way and takes you off your true path.

Self-aware people constantly strive to find out who they are deep inside and how they can make the world a better place. You only have one chance to enjoy your time on this planet. What will you do to develop self-awareness and make the most of your precious life?

Cheers,

Guy

Ways for Self-Aware Leaders to Celebrate Diversity

July 15, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-aware leaders frequently ask me how they can celebrate diversity in their organization. There’s no standardized formula, all it takes is some planning and goodwill. Try these ideas as you begin celebrating diversity in your workplace:

Celebrate everyone. Don’t just focus on a certain group, pay attention to everyone in the workplace.
Put diverse people in leadership positions. Nothing says that you care about diversity more than promoting diverse people to leadership positions.
Set up an ongoing diversity discussion. You’ll show exceptional commitment to diversity if you have a program that allows people to regularly discuss how it affects them.
Set an example. How you treat your employees and colleagues sets the tone for the organization.
Include diversity in your values. Not only is is advisable to have a diversity policy but make it one of your core values as in, “We will value people from all backgrounds and experiences.”

Try these ideas and see how they affect your workplace. Companies that try these kind of approaches find that they create an atmosphere of greater trust and employees who feel valued. What will you do to develop self-awareness and celebrate diversity in your organization?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Empathy

July 15, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy - 3 Comments

Self-awareness and empathy are closely linked together because they are both part of being a happy, healthy individual. Empathy is the ability to understand another being’s situation, to walk a mile in their shoes and attempt to comprehend what they are experiencing. As you build more self-awareness in life, you become more and more comfortable with who you are as a person and you create balance and security. The better you feel about yourself, the better you treat others.

Having empathy means that you feel confident enough in yourself to put your needs on the backburner for a while and think about how others see the world. It’s the ability to step outside your head and think about what someone else is going through before you think, say or do something. What will you do to practice more empathy in your life?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Don’t Crave External Validation

July 10, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-aware people don’t crave external validation because they are happy with themselves and understand their own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. They are comfortable with who they are and forge their own path in life.

Many individuals lack self-awareness and spend their lives doing what other people say. The only person who really matters is you and it’s important that you listen to what your inner voice is telling you. That doesn’t mean that you need to ignore wise people, just that it’s positive to think independently and trust yourself.

If you feel yourself craving validation, try doing something different than you normally would, like:

Increasing your self-awareness by evaluating your strengths and areas for improvement.
Working on healing the hurts from your past.
Doing some positive thing you love doing and that moves you in a beneficial direction.
Taking a walk.
Doing something creative.
Creating a list of wonderful things about you and adding to it each day for thirty days.

The trick to moving past needing outside validation is to learn how to love yourself by knowing who you are and what brings you joy in life. All it takes to get there is doing small things each day that will eventually transform your life. What will you do to develop self-awareness and stop craving external validation?

Cheers,

Guy