Personal Awareness

Self-Awareness and Compassion - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Compassion

/ / Self and Self-Awareness, Self-Awareness / ,

Self-awareness and compassion are interwoven because, when you understand how your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors affect you and others, you’re able to treat people well and build a better world. Here are some characteristics of compassion:

  • Consciousness of another person’s distress and the desire to help them.
  • The ability to understand when someone else is suffering, hurt, struggling, or feeling down.
  • The desire to help others without any need to be rewarded.
  • The ability to step outside your immediate needs and tend to someone else’s.
  • Consciousness that all kinds of people fall on hard times or have difficulties and need help.
  • Helping people without judging them.

A big part of self-awareness is strengthening your ability to see beyond your own horizons and feel compassion for others; which means that you’ve become comfortable and healthy enough as a person that you can feel other people’s pain and try to help them with it.

A world without compassion is one where nobody helps anyone and everyone just worries about their own desires and needs. As you increase your self-awareness you will find that your compassion increases and you’re better able to tend to others because you’re healthier. What will you do to increase your self-awareness and practice compassion?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness, Team Building, and Workplace Relationships - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness, Team Building, and Workplace Relationships

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If you’re a leader who possesses self-awareness, then you know how important team building and promoting positive workplace relationships are to creating a healthy, high-functioning organization.

The leaders and employees I consult with frequently talk to me about not feeling like they connect with certain people in the workplace. It’s almost as if they lack self-awareness and expect the other person to behave a certain way or read their mind. This is a very common experience in workplace relationships: One person expects a certain kind of interaction while the other seems oblivious. This dynamic leads to a lot of frustrated people and poorly functioning teams.

The difficulty arises when people hold on to their expectations even when they see repeated evidence that they will never get what  they want. They hang on to their hopes for a long time waiting for something to magically change. Their expectations can easily become an obstacle to building positive workplace relationships because they expect things to go a certain way rather than working on improving their own self-awareness and dealing with what’s actually happening.

No amount of hope can change the course of your work relationships and you can’t wish your way out of a negative situation. The only way you can introduce positive energy into your relationships is by having the self-awareness to do things that change the patterns you’ve established.

Changing the way you do things is the only way to affect your situation. No amount of hope or expectations can take the place of being self-aware and applying effective behaviors such as excellent communication, team building or problem solving skills. The great news is that you can do things to change the course of your work relationships, it just requires some courage and taking action to move in a different direction.

What will you do to use self-awareness to promote team building and positive workplace relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Facilitates Team Building and Reduces Conflict in the Workplace - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Facilitates Team Building and Reduces Conflict in the Workplace

/ / Self-Awareness in Leadership / , , , ,

Conflict in the workplace can be painful and sap your energy. My clients who lack self-awareness often ask me what to do about a employee who they can’t get along with or people who are in constant conflict. It can be tricky to deal with workplace conflict because most organizations don’t have strategies beyond reprimands and other punishments.

Our workplaces are often places where we give people a free pass to hurt each other because we lack the self-awareness to do anything else. We like to think we know how to deal with conflict but we end up enduring feuds that last years.

So how can you reduce conflict in your workplace and increase self-awareness? Here’s a couple of ideas to think about:

1. Develop a strategy to deal with conflict. Set up clear goals, expectations and parameters and ask for input from leadership and staff.

2. Inform everyone that this is the new way of doing things and train them to make sure everyone is on the same page.

3. Inform your workplace that you have resources in place to help people work things out.

4. Work with your leaders and employees to give them the skills to resolve their own conflicts.

5. Set the example and consistently behave in a way that reduces conflict.

6. Develop an ongoing conflict resolution training program and participate actively in it.

7. Expect resistance to your new ideas about conflict. Things will settle in once you train people and they get a chance to practice the new skills.

Healthy workplaces help their leaders and employees resolve their own conflicts in peaceful and lasting ways. As a leader, you set the example for how conflict is viewed and dealt with in your organization. You can start designing a conflict resolution program today that will help you create a workplace where people get along and aren’t at each other’s throats all the time.

What will you do to develop self-awareness, build stronger teams, and reduce conflict in your workplace?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and What You Put Out in the World - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and What You Put Out in the World

/ / Self and Self-Awareness, Self-Awareness / , ,

Self-awareness affects what you put out toward others or in life in general because, when you understand your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, you’re able to spread positive energy in the world.

Think about what you feel, think, and do the next time you interact with people at work or in your personal life. How does the vibe you put out affect what you get back from people? For example, how do you feel when someone does the following?

  • Frowns.
  • Scowls.
  • Speaks in an aggressive tone of voice or shouts.
  • Doesn’t listen.
  • Doesn’t look at you.
  • Is angry or impatient.
  • Talks over you.
  • Rolls their eyes.
  • Always griping or negative.
  • Lacks self-awareness.

How would you react to a person acting like this? I bet you can think of
many other things that are not conducive to great communication or to
effective interpersonal relationships. It’s amazing how much the energy
we put out affect what we get back. On the other hand, think of how you react when someone does the following:

  • Smiles.
  • Listens.
  • Speaks in a calm tone.
  • Looks at you.
  • Talks when appropriate.
  • Nods and prompts you for more information.
  • Focuses on positive approaches.
  • Is self-aware.

What was your reaction to this type of behavior? If you’re like most people
you would likely be more attracted to interacting with this person.
There really is something to the idea that what we put out is what we
get back. What can you do about it? Start today by putting out positive
vibes that the world can pick up on. It will take conscious effort and
practice on your part but, over time, you will transform who you are
and live more in harmony with yourself and others.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and spread positive energy?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Your Perspective - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Your Perspective

/ / Self and Self-Awareness, Self-Awareness / , , , , , ,

Perspective affects everything you do in life. For example: A person in Bangladesh living in complete poverty can be very happy while a person in an affluent neighborhood in the United States can be miserable. Your level of self-awareness affects your perspective on life because, when you’re comfortable with your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, you’re able to maintain a positive outlook.

Perspective is the way you see the world based on your self-awareness and personal experiences. If you filter out the positive, you tend to focus on the things that aren’t going well. If you filter out the negative, you’re better able to see the beneficial side of things. A great example of perspective is found in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Tiny Tim doesn’t have use of his legs but he doesn’t wallow in self pity, he forges on and is a source of strength for his family.

You’re faced with important choices throughout your life. At any moment you can choose your perspective and that will lead you down a certain path. Try this simple exercise: The next time you feel you can’t overcome an obstacle, consciously tell yourself, “I can handle this,” or some other positive affirmation. This will help you shift from a negative to a positive perspective.

It’s amazing what can happen when you choose a perspective that gives you the power to move forward rather than staying stuck. What will you do to view the world from a positive perspective?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Leads to Success in Life and Your Career - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Leads to Success in Life and Your Career

/ / Self-Awareness / , , ,

Many people who lack self-awareness spend a lifetime searching for the secret to success when it is in front of them the whole time. There really isn’t a magic secret to being successful in life and your career, it just requires purposeful action. Purposeful action means that we behave in a fully conscious manner and think about every action that we take. We don’t leave things to chance, except when appropriate, and we purposefully do things to improve things about ourselves. We don’t let life happen to us, we make it happen.

Thinking successfully requires that we build self-awareness and re-program some of our previous thought patterns. We benefit from consciously moving past the messages about not being successful or having to rely on others for our fulfillment. We also purposefully leave behind the self-talk about not being able to achieve greatness or not deserving a good life. Our new way of thinking allows us great freedom because we get to create success by simply doing things that lead in that direction.

The following steps will help you achieve what you want in life but there is one condition: You have to do them. Take some time to walk yourself through these ideas slowly and deliberately, the answers will lead you toward your dreams and aspirations.

1. Identify something you want to achieve in life.
2. Brainstorm different tasks that will help you achieve your goal.
3. Pick one task and follow it through to completion. Assign yourself a realistic time limit.

When you are done with these three steps repeat them by going back to your brainstorm list and working on one of the other ideas or by starting at number one again. Use these steps to keep moving and continue taking action toward your dreams. Here’s what the process might look like as you answer the questions:

1. I want to start my own business . (This is where you identify your dream).

2. Tasks involved in starting my business: (This is where you brainstorm ideas).
a. What kind of business.
b. Taking a class in starting a business.
c. Making contacts.
d. Talking to business people.

3. I will decide what kind of business really excites me. I will do this within the next week. (This is where you choose a task and complete it).

When you complete number three, then simply repeat. Success is based on continuous movement and action and going through these steps helps you keep going. If you don’t actually do stuff you never get beyond the idea phase, you benefit greatly from completing tasks. Before you know it you will be on your way to completing one, two, ten, forty, fifty tasks and you will be moving down the road you used to only dream of.

People who lack self-awareness get stuck because they keep repeating the same actions over and over. These three steps allow you to interrupt that cycle. With each action you complete you become stronger and more successful. Don’t worry too much about what goal you choose or what action to take, it is the act of doing things that creates the change in your life.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and be successful in life and your career?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Healing Your Hurts - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Healing Your Hurts

/ / Self-Awareness, Self-Consciousness / , , , , , , ,

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

The Self-Awareness Guy