Define Self-Awareness Archives – Page 7 of 8

Self-Aware People Keep Moving Forward

March 25, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

The only way to make anything happen in your life is to build up your self-awareness and keep moving forward. Many people give up on their dreams because things get difficult or don’t work out the way they thought they would. They don’t realize that they’ll always encounter some type of roadblock, things rarely unfold exactly like we wish they would. The key to success is to keep going instead of staying stuck.

When you possess self-awareness, you’re able to take a candid look at yourself and realize that you have the ability to move in the direction of your dreams. A positive approach that works for me is to just take small steps each day toward something I want to achieve. Each day I build my body of work and my connections to other people who appreciate what I do. It’s a gradual, low-stress, ongoing process that builds over time.

What do you do to keep moving forward?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Are Compassionate

March 4, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

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 Do More Than Fixing Problems

March 4, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

I have facilitated numerous workshops and consulted with myriad people who lack self-awareness and a common theme that comes up is the idea of fixing things. From an early age, we are taught to confront any problem with a fix. If someone says something to us in our personal or professional life we immediately jump and look for ways to fix it. While I like resolving issues, it’s also important to give some importance to just building self-awareness and working on things without fixing them. Next time someone comes to you with a problem, consider the following possibilities:

1. Listen without interrupting or offering advice.
2. Give yourself permission not to fix anything.
3. Let the person talk to you freely and give them the time to do so.
4. Even if you disagree, don’t rebut or become defensive.
5. Learn to recognize the things that trigger your defensiveness or anger.
6. Offer to listen to the person again.
7. Always remain calm and caring.

The act of listening changes the whole dynamic in relationships. Suddenly we can learn what other people really think and simply bond with them. This approach is different because it requires that, instead of talking or jumping in, we just let someone else tell us about the things they find meaningful. This approach greatly reduces hurt feelings and anger because it requires us to react calmly to anything another person says.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and stop fixing things?

Cheers,

Guy

15 Examples of the Importance of Self-Awareness

February 28, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Here are fifteen examples of the importance of self-awareness:

You get to live life as the real you.
You learn more about who you really are deep down inside.
You avoid the pain and discomfort that comes from living a life that isn’t really yours.
You can work on healing your hurts instead of ignoring or trying to suppress them.
You become a healthier person.
You are nicer to yourself and others and you contribute to making the world a better place.
New opportunities present themselves because you’re living as the authentic you.
People like you for who you are, not whom you pretend to be.
You build healthier relationships.
You get along with others.
Life flows more smoothly because you’re not constantly fighting with yourself and others.
You get to be more fulfilled and happier.
You’re able to feel your emotions and deal with them positively.
You take action instead of reacting to everything.
Your thinking matches your actions.

There are many benefits to developing self-awareness but the biggest one is being at peace with yourself and the world around you. Imagine living your life happily and peacefully instead of just trying to survive each day. What would you add to this list?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Dealing with Complex Issues

February 25, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

A big part of practicing self-awareness is being able to examine the complexities in the world through thinking critically and considering issues from more than one perspective.

It’s easy to look at everything from one point of view, you just make a quick decision based on what you’ve always thought, but I prefer living in a world where things don’t always have an immediate answer.

A lot of people are afraid of dealing with complex issues like death or self-awareness, but it’s in those types of difficult topics that we discover the meaning of life. It’s simpler to subsist avoiding the deeper issues in life but we stay stuck at that level, which doesn’t lead to great meaning or fulfillment. I’ve found it far more productive to welcome ambiguity and discomfort and use them to learn and grow.

Life is full of complicated, uncomfortable, difficult situations, but you’ll be better able to deal with them if you understand who you really are at your core and are willing to use self-awareness to move forward positively.

What will you do to become more self-aware and deal with complex issues?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Dealing with Difficult Situations at Work

February 6, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Leaders who possess self-awareness are adept at dealing with difficult situations at work because they are able to deal with their own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, as well as thinking about how others perceive what’s going on.

I often get questions from leaders who are diligently trying to figure out what to do in a difficult situation at work but can’t quite find an answer. Most leaders and managers care for the well-being of their employees but may not have access to resources to resolve challenges. There’s nothing terrible about this kind of situation, all you need to do is add another tool to help you deal with the matter at hand.

I encourage people to think in terms of increasing self-awareness and finding their own solutions to tough issues in the workplace. For example, spend some time thinking and doing the following:

1. What would I name this issue?

2. What are some possible solutions for the issue?

3. Which solution makes the most sense to me?

4. What do I need to do to start working on the solution?

As you answer these questions (in order) you will begin to improve your self-awareness and formulate a strategy to deal with whatever situation comes your way. If you think about it, this four-question process simply defines what you’re dealing with and narrows down your options so that you can focus on a solution.

Try using these four steps and arrive at your own carefully thought-out decisions. Dealing with tough issues doesn’t have to be complicated. Break the situation into manageable pieces and you’ll be able to work on it more effectively. What will you do to develop self-awareness and deal effectively with difficult situations at work?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Means Being Yourself

January 28, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

There are a lot of miserable people walking around because they’re doing what their families tell them to do, what their friends want them to do, or what some external being compels them to do rather than focusing on building self-awareness and living authentically.

The true key to happiness is to be yourself and live as the real you. Over many years of consulting for individuals who value developing self-awareness, I’ve noticed that people cause themselves all kinds of unnecessary grief and tension because they don’t live in a way that reflects who they really are inside.

When you’re the authentic you it opens all kinds of doors, you meet people who understand where you’re coming from and what you’re doing. You project positive energy when you’re following your passion. Since I let go of being someone I wasn’t and became a poet, I feel better about myself and connect with people who value what I do. I really like it when people like the real me instead of some artificial persona.

What do you do to be yourself?

Cheers,

Guy