Self-Aware

Using Self-Awareness to Improve Relationships - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Using Self-Awareness to Improve Relationships

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You can use self-awareness to improve your relationships starting today because, when you understand how your emotions, thoughts, and actions affect your interactions with others, you’re better able to connect with them positively and understand where they’re coming from.

It’s easy to focus exclusively on our own perspective in relationships. We tend to think of our relationship issues in terms we are familiar with and this often means we keep repeating the same patterns and acting the same way we always have. This works well if we get great results but what happens if our behaviors always lead to less than satisfactory relationships.

We all know people who lack self-awareness and never quite resolve their differences with others, and we watch them repeat the same pattern over and over. I’ve noticed that it is helpful to let in some new information and get a fresh perspective. When we let new information in it’s like opening a window in a stuffy room, we can breathe better and think more clearly. Think about some of the following ideas next time you feel stuck in your relationship.

1. Who can I turn to that is not involved in my situation and can give me impartial advice?
2. Am I willing to let an outside person offer me advice?
3. How open am I to talking about personal issues with an outside person?
4. How open am I to doing the work necessary to move in a different direction?
5. What actions will I commit to doing?

Think about these questions and keep in mind that none of us has all the answers but we all have the ability to improve our self-awareness and acquire new information if we are open enough. Let some air in, enjoy a fresh perspective and start moving in a new direction. What will you do to increase your self-awareness so you can improve your relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

How to Achieve Goals and Increase Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

How to Achieve Goals and Increase Self-Awareness

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Here are some practical tips to achieve goals and increase self-awareness:

  • Pick one issue you want to work on. Define it as specifically and narrowly as possible.
  • Keep your goal manageable. For example: “I will write one chapter of my book,” “I’m going to work on 50 books.” This sets you up for success instead of feeling disappointed because you took on too much at once.
  • Monitor your progress and celebrate as you go along. When you accomplish one task, congratulate yourself and reflect on the great work you did.
  • Keep taking small steps even when you don’t feel like it. You will feel at times that nothing positive is happening. Keep pushing through those thoughts by continuing to take action.

An important part of self-awareness is to keep things manageable and work little by little. It’s the small steps that eventually lead to big results.

Cheers,

Guy

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

Self-Awareness and Your Perspective

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

Self-Awareness and Healing Your Hurts

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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

Self-Awareness and Inner Peace - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Inner Peace

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When you possess a high level of self-awareness you also experience inner peace because, when you know yourself well, you let go of a lot of the noise that gets in the way of feeling great about yourself and living the life you want to. Here are some ways self-awareness leads to inner peace:

  • You actively work on healing your hurts so you can feel better about yourself.
  • You look deep inside and discover who you really are and then live your life accordingly.
  • You become familiar with the things you do well and the things you need to improve so you can be a more effective person.
  • You let go of superficial concerns and focus on the things that really matter.
  • You attract healthier relationships because you’re healthier.
  • Each day become an opportunity to learn and grow.
  • You feel a sense of calm inside because you are more in tune with who you are.
  • You do kind things for yourself and others.
  • You make the world a better place for yourself and others.
  • Your life is more fulfilling and joyful.

A lot of people never achieve inner peace because they forget to look within. Self-awareness allow you to intimately understand who you are and live life as the real you. When you wake up each day able to enjoy being yourself, your whole existence changes.

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Going Deeper - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Going Deeper

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Having self-awareness means that you understand what makes you tick and you’re willing to work on improving yourself. A lot of people spend their entire lives avoiding going deeper into what makes them think and behave the way they do. The irony is that you can’t live a truly authentic and fulfilling life unless you deal with the difficult issues inside you. In general, the more you want to avoid something the more attention it merits.

If you chronically avoid thorny issues you do yourself a disservice because you never get past them, which means you function day to day as if you were carrying a heavy piece of luggage or baggage. The key to living a great life is to heal your hurts. It may be unpleasant at first, but when you work past them you’ll experience life at its most satisfying.

The great thing about possessing self-awareness is that you’re able to look at all the things that make you the person you are, warts and all, and are open to fearlessly examining your innermost self. The more you know yourself, the happier you’ll be.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and go deeper?

Cheers,

Guy

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

Self-Awareness and Flexibility

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When you possess self-awareness you’ll likely demonstrate a flexibility to adapt to different situations and change course in life when unforeseen obstacles present themselves. If you’ve ever interacted with someone who lacks flexibility, you know how tragically sad it is when they are unable to change no matter what the consequences or rewards.

One of the major characteristics of truly happy people is the ability to bend instead of break by being open to making changes, learning new things, and continually growing. Taking a candid look at yourself and making meaningful and sometimes difficult adjustments requires significant courage; being stubborn requires none.

The reward of being flexible is that you’ll understand what it is to be able to adapt and thrive regardless of the situation. The thing I love about providing guidance to people who value self-awareness is that they are open to moving in new and exciting directions instead of staying stuck in one place.

How does flexibility affect your life?

Cheers,
Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy