Personal Awareness

Self-Awareness Means Being Conscious of What You Say to Yourself - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Means Being Conscious of What You Say to Yourself

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It’s hard to increase your self-awareness if you have messages floating around in your head that sabotage your progress. It’s important to identify what those messages are so you can move past them. For example: Something inside you says that you can’t start a business; it’s up to you whether you continue to believe that voice or you replace it with something else.

It takes time an effort to change your inner dialogue but, when you do it, you’ll enjoy moving forward with greater self-awareness. Here are some examples of positive things to say to yourself:

  • I am committed to doing the work necessary to figure out who I am and what I want to do in life.
  • I am able to pursue my dreams.
  • I can heal my inner hurts.
  • I am a great person.
  • I have the answers I need deep inside of me.
  • I will listen to myself.
  • I have amazing skills and abilities I can share with the world.
  • I am important and worthwhile.
  • I am able to find meaning inside myself.
  • I love myself.

Try repeating things like these to yourself and you’ll notice how you move in a more favorable direction, with the negative messages playing a smaller and smaller part. The key is to stick to it until the prevailing narrative in your mind is a beneficial one.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and say positive things to yourself?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Helps Interrupt Negative Relationship Patterns - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Helps Interrupt Negative Relationship Patterns

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Self-awareness helps interrupt negative relationship patterns because, when you understand your own and others’ emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, you’re better able to deal with any issue that comes up in a relationship.

Many of us learn how to function in relationships from what we saw our parents do or learned from our friends. The patterns we learn are often hard to move away from even when they are consistently negative or don’t make us feel better as people.

Why is it then that people seem to stay stuck in non-productive relationships rather than working on finding new and more rewarding ways of doing things? In my experience it is due to a lack of self-awareness, comfort with the familiar, and fear of the unknown. As strange as it sounds when viewed objectively, we often stay with what we know because we think it is more comfortable.

The great thing is that we can often experience far greater joy and reward by increasing self-awareness and doing something new. Learning new behaviors that lead us in positive directions can result in resolving chronic relationship problems, finding new and positive relationships and treating ourselves better.

Try this sometime: Examine your existing relationship and decide on one thing that could change to improve the relationship. Work on that one thing consistently over time. Seek outside help if you need an objective point of view. Once you start establishing a new pattern things will begin moving in a different direction.

People often tell me they never knew their relationships were so stuck until they introduced new behaviors. They are often surprised at how good things can get and frequently tell me that they are glad they consciously worked on breaking the patterns they had established in their relationships and trying new ones.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and interrupt negative relationship patterns?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Deal Well with Conflict - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware People Deal Well with Conflict

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When I consult with people who lack self-awareness about conflict resolution the question often comes up, “So what am I supposed to do if someone is getting mad at me?” Though counterintuitive, the answer is that you don’t have to do much, just listen. The next time someone is getting upset while talking with you, try these self-aware techniques:

1. Listen actively.
2. Nod and smile.
3. If you must talk do so only to say, “Tell me more.”

You will be absolutely amazed at the results you will get from simply listening to someone. The trap we fall in is that we think that, when other people are upset, it must be about us. When you give someone the space and opportunity to simply talk and be validated then they will give you much more information than if you engage them in a conflict.

So, give it a try. The next time you are about to get in an argument tell yourself that it is not about you and give the other person the chance to tell you about themselves. Once you master this skill, you will find that many of the conflicts you formerly had will disappear because you will no longer be part of the conflict.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and deal positively with conflict?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Look for Answers Inside - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware People Look for Answers Inside

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People who lack self-awareness spend a lot of time looking to outside sources instead of looking inside themselves for answers to life’s big questions. Living a meaningful life requires building self-awareness so you can get to know who you really are and live a life that reflects your true self. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you look deep inside and find the answers that work for you:

  • What brings me joy?
  • What do I love doing?
  • If money were no object, what would I do?
  • What is my passion in life?
  • What do I find meaningful in life?
  • Who am I?
  • What kind of person am I?
  • What talent of mine would I love to share with the world?
  • What am I willing to do to live my dream life?
  • What holds me back?
  • What motivates me to take action?
  • What’s my definition of the meaning of life?

Take some time to carefully answer all these questions, they will lead you toward living a genuinely fulfilling and happy life. You can find the answers you’re looking for if you’re willing to look within and listen to your inner voice.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and find the answers inside you?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Helps You Treat Yourself Well in Relationships - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Helps You Treat Yourself Well in Relationships

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Self-awareness helps you treat yourself well in relationships because, when you understand why you feel, think, and behave the way you do, you are able to examine yourself, heal your hurts, move in the direction of your dreams, and invite others to join you.

We frequently give ourselves to others in ways that weaken our spirit and take us down a road we don’t want to travel. It’s almost as if we lose our sense of who we are and hand over our destiny to another person.

One of the reasons why relationships stagnate or engender conflict is that the parties have forgotten that they are the most important person in the world. We benefit by first understanding ourselves and working out our own issues and then entering relationships. In this way, relationships become about a connection between two or more healthy people rather than individuals who facilitate each other’s negative behaviors.

Think of yourself as the most important person in the world. Work on yourself first and you will attract people who will enjoy you for who you are, not for what they can get out of you.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and treat yourself well in relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Are the True Optimists - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware People Are the True Optimists

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A lot of people who lack self-awareness say they’re optimists but feel, think, and behave in profoundly pessimistic or negative ways, to the point of hurting themselves or others.

Being a true optimist means you’re consistently open to increasing your self-awareness, following an authentic path in life, and behaving hopefully and positively. You can’t claim to look on the bright side if you spread negative vibes in some other part of your life.

Real optimists make life better not only for themselves but for everyone else. They believe that the world can be a kind, peaceful place where people treat each other with empathy and care.

I love consulting for self-aware people because they aren’t afraid to examine who they are, warts and all, and keep moving forward fearlessly. It takes courage to look at the difficult things in life and keep learning and growing rather than pretending you’re doing OK while you’re really hurting inside.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and be a true optimist?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Aware People Don't Live in Fear - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Aware People Don’t Live in Fear

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Self-aware people don’t live in fear because they do the work necessary to be comfortable with themselves and be in touch with their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in order to move forward courageously.

Our culture often tells us that we have to live in fear. We’re constantly fed news and information about safety and avoiding various bogeymen. We scamper around, afraid that the latest threat is already under our bed. The challenge in the face of this onslaught of anxiety is to move beyond the fight or flight instinct and live with self-awareness, courage, and hope.

If all you do is sit around being scared of something, then you’ll live a life where you don’t follow your dreams, or do what you love doing. Fear keeps you stuck trying to be safe instead of courageously following your inner voice. It’s up to you to decide what kind of life you want to live: One where you stifle your voice, or one where you sing joyfully.

I love connecting with people who value self-awareness because they understand what’s it’s like to exist in a realm of uncertainty and nebulousness and create something positive out of it. They live with hope and valor instead of trepidation.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and not live in fear?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy