A Self-Awareness

What Is Self Awareness and Why Is It Important? - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

What Is Self Awareness and Why Is It Important?

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People often ask me what is self-awareness and why is it important? In a nutshell, self-awareness is the ability to understand who you are and why you feel, think, and behave the way you do. It’s important because it means the difference between living with your eyes closed or open, being unconscious or conscious.

Think of someone you know who never seems to have a clue about what they’re doing or why things are happening in their lives; that’s a person without self-awareness. People who know themselves well are able to live much deeper, more fulfilling and balanced lives as opposed to just stumbling from one accident to another. Here are some of the characteristics of people who possesses a high level of self-awareness:

  • They heal the hurts from their past.
  • They know who they are deep inside and what they really want to do in life.
  • They understand why they feel, think, and act the way they do.
  • They are able to step outside themselves and empathize with others.
  • They enjoy more meaningful interpersonal relationships.
  • They get along with others.
  • They don’t need to control everything.
  • They don’t have to win all the time.
  • They constantly learn and grow.
  • They understand how their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors affect not only them, but others, as well as society in general.
  • They care about reality.
  • They’re comfortable with themselves.
  • They’re generally happier.
  • They make the world a better place.

The reason why self-awareness is so important is that it gives you the opportunity to live consciously and actually affect your destiny. People who are self-aware are able to enjoy living at a more meaningful level.

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Helps Increase Clarity in Relationships - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Helps Increase Clarity in Relationships

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Self-awareness helps increase clarity in relationships because, when people understand their own emotions, thoughts, and actions, they are able to resolve issues and empathize with each other.

People in relationships often move in different directions without even knowing it. Even some of the most well-intentioned people who really care for each other experience conflict and challenges because they are not on the same page.

I’m a big supporter of clarity in relationships. Clarity is when everyone involved understands what’s going on in the relationship. It does away with assumptions, secrets, guesses, misunderstandings and frustration because we actually get to figure out what’s going on.

How to gain clarity? Practice self-awareness and use the following steps to help you get to the core of what’s happening in your relationship:

1. Each person talks uninterrupted about how they see the situation?
2. Each person listens carefully without judging, rebutting or giving advice.
3. Each person asks open ended questions to clarify what is going on.
4. The people agree on a way to proceed.

Dialogue is very important to achieving clarity. Make sure to practice listening skills and asking questions. Open-ended questions are questions that don’t lead to a yes or no answer and allow the other person to meaningfully explain where they are coming from.

This is a style of talking about relationship issues that doesn’t require confrontation; it’s just about people listening to each other and sharing their points of view. Try it sometime to gain clarity on what’s going on in your relationship.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and increase the clarity in your relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Moving Past Hurt - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Moving Past Hurt

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When you possess self-awareness, you’re much more likely to enjoy life rather than feeling miserable. Living in hurt is something that countless numbers of people know all too well. They may not consciously understand what they’re doing, but they experience the results of their subconscious minds compelling them to behave in negative, unproductive, and counterintuitive ways.

The legacy of hurt is powerful. It can travel over generations and influence people in its proximity. Hurt people routinely destroy themselves, others, their nations, and the planet. Throughout many years of helping individuals and groups build self-awareness, I’ve noticed that the most genuinely happy people are those who have dealt directly with their hurts. This means they’ve done the hard work necessary to examine themselves and heal the wounds of the past.

Moving beyond pain or trauma is difficult. It requires a higher level of self-awareness and a commitment to improving oneself. Very few people do it, but those who embark on the journey are rewarded with a richer, multifaceted, healthy, expansive life.

What will you do to increase self-awareness and reduce the hurt in your life?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Positive Thinking - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Positive Thinking

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Self-awareness, leadership, and successful thinking are interlinked because leaders who understand their strengths and areas for improvement are better able to lead effectively.

Ever work for a leader who always sees the glass as half empty? What was it like? As a leader, how you wake up in the morning can make a big difference on how successful your day, your week or your entire work life is. Think about how your work day will go if you think thoughts like these:

  • Another day another dollar.
  • I hate my work.
  • I don’t want to get out of bed.
  • I hate my job.
  • I don’t feel like doing anything new.
  • I lost my slippers.
  • I wish those birds would shut up.
  • I can’t deal with my employees.
  • I won’t get any clients.

You might be better off staying in bed if you think these thoughts because they are going to lead you toward stagnation or lack of motivation and will do the same for your workplace. Think about what kind of results you might get if you increased your self-awareness and consciously thought the following:

  • I’m going to make my work meaningful.
  • I’m looking forward to the people I’ll meet today.
  • I’ve designed work activities I enjoy.
  • It’s going to be a great day.
  • I love the sound of birds chirping.
  • Nothing can stop me today.
  • My workplace is full of opportunities.
  • I love the work I do.

It may feel a little different at first, but thinking in a positive way actually leads you in a positive direction. If you think you’re going to fail, you will, if you envision success you’re more likely to create those results. How you think about your workplace will deeply affect the way your career unfolds.

How will you develop self-awareness and practice successful thinking?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Means Possessing Emotional Intelligence - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Means Possessing Emotional Intelligence

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When you’re self-aware, you’re in touch with and can manage your emotions, which means you possess emotional intelligence. People are often scared or don’t understand the concept of emotional intelligence, but it’s really just a helpful skill that can help anyone live a better life.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to deal with or manage your emotions and welcome the emotions of others. If you’re an emotionally intelligent individual, you’re comfortable with any feeling that occurs inside you, you’re able to handle it and keep your life moving in a positive direction, and you do the same when others are feeling things.

A lot of people are deeply uncomfortable with experiencing their emotions, they’ve been taught that it somehow makes them weak or vulnerable – they’re basically afraid of what will happen if they look at the things that are troubling them. The irony is that self-aware people who openly experience their emotions are happier and more courageous.

Over the years, I’ve found that people actually feel better when they learn how to deal with and manage their emotions. It’s like a weight lifts off their shoulders and they’re able to enjoy life to it’s fullest.

Emotions are a natural part of life and you can either use them to become a healthier person or let them bring you down. What will you do to develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Negative Beliefs - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Negative Beliefs

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When you possess a high degree of self-awareness you tend to bypass negative beliefs because you have a more complete understanding of what’s really going on inside and around you and how you can move things in a positive direction rather than staying stuck in fear, superstition, inaction or inauthenticity. Here are some ideas to help you reduce the negativity:

  • Realize that you can’t possibly control everything around you.
  • Work actively on understanding yourself on a deeper level.
  • Take action each day to do things that are meaningful to you.
  • Believe that your perception of the world doesn’t have to be negative.
  • See the big picture rather than getting mired in endless detail.
  • Focus on what’s going well.
  • Learn to redirect negative feelings and replace them with positive alternatives.

Negative people and events can’t hold you back if you don’t let them. You have many options available to you rather than despairing or giving up, what will you do to increase your self-awareness and get rid of negative beliefs?

Cheers,

Guy

Rigid Thinking Means Lack of Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Rigid Thinking Means Lack of Self-Awareness

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Rigid thinking reflects a lack of self-awareness and often leads to unhappiness and imbalance, yet many people hang on to one set of thoughts and behaviors throughout their entire lives. They do this because they’re unwilling or unable to consider any other point of view other than their own, usually because they feel that something negative will happen if they consider other options. Some people genuinely believe that they’ll look weak if they change their minds, others are afraid that their carefully constructed world will come tumbling down.

It can be daunting when you realize that your former views don’t fit the situation you’re facing or that you don’t have the tools to deal with new circumstances. Thankfully, human beings are able to raise their self-awareness, change their thinking patterns and acquire new information. Here are some ideas to help you expand your thinking:

  • Actively research and read from many sources.
  • Learn about other points of view.
  • Challenge yourself to look at a situation from a different perspective.
  • Tell yourself the world won’t end if you change your thoughts.
  • Become stronger by learning new things.
  • Listen to what others say and consider their views.
  • Be optimistic that new views can be beneficial.
  • Welcome change into your life.
  • Consider thinking in a way that brings you joy.
  • Think in ways that add to your self-awareness and help you grow.
  • Identify ways to build bridges.
  • Think compassionately.

When you think openly, it helps you find a point of view that brings you genuine, deep happiness and fulfillment rather than covering up your warts or enabling you to barely make it through the day. New ideas and information can help you thrive and succeed in ways you might have not even imagined before. What will you do to improve your self-awareness and think optimistically and openly?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy