Self-Knowledge Archives – Page 21 of 39

Self-Awareness Heals the Darkness Inside

May 5, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

We all have some darkness inside; that place we don’t want to visit where our deepest fears, regrets, and other unmentionables reside. One of the reasons I love consulting for people who value self-awareness is that they actively work on shining a light in these unpleasant recesses of the psyche instead of pretending they don’t exist.

It’s impossible to live a genuinely happy life if you don’t deal with the monsters under the bed. I tried for years to pretend that my disquiets didn’t exist or to numb them in some way, but they never left my side. It was only when I became self-aware and conscious enough to acknowledge my issues that I was able to move in a healthier direction. I still have uneasy moments, but I’m generally moving toward the light.

As you increase your self-awareness, you’ll find that you understand yourself on a different level, one where you can actually take action and heal yourself. What will you do to develop self-awareness and heal the darkness inside you?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Your Impact on Others

May 4, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

One of the hallmarks of self-awareness is the ability to understand the impact you have on others. Many people go through their entire lives only thinking of their own immediate needs and what will affect them directly. They react to their environment based not on their deepest dreams and wishes but with unconscious thoughts, feelings and actions. The whole point of self-awareness is to know yourself so well that you can step outside your own experience and empathize with others. Let’s look at two individuals and consider what their impact might be on other people:

1. Person One wakes up each morning and does whatever he needs to do to take care of himself and the people he knows. He doesn’t worry about what his actions do to anyone outside his immediate circle, it’s not even on his radar. He treats people based on how he feels at that particular moment and isn’t concerned with how they are affected by his behavior. He doesn’t pay much attention to his unresolved feelings and issues, preferring instead to stuff them deep inside or do things to forget about them. He does many things that bring him immediate pleasure and reward but not lasting fulfillment. He has a job that pays the bills but doesn’t reflect his true passions. He lives life so he can fit in with a particular group.

2. Person Two wakes up and spends some time meditating on who he really is deep down inside and how he can bring the most good to the most people today. He is constantly mindful of how his actions affect others although he still makes sure that he does things that bring him joy and meet his own needs. He treats people kindly and compassionately, the same way he treats himself. He actively works on healing his hurts and unresolved issues. He does things for pleasure but understands that true fulfillment comes from inner healing and self-awareness. His work reflects who he is deep inside. He lives life building a greater understanding of himself and others.

Countless people live their lives like Person One: Bouncing unconsciously from one event to another, one interaction to the another, one reaction to another, and letting their stuff get on others. A smaller number choose to live like Person Two: They know that it’s hard to be mindful but it creates deep happiness and fulfillment and allows them to treat other people kindly and respectfully.

When you know yourself well and are happy and healthy, you’ll tend to be a more positive person and treat everyone with care and compassion, a reflection of how you feel about yourself. What will you do to make sure you impact people positively?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Political Correctness

May 4, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy - 2 Comments

Self-awareness and political correctness go hand in hand because a major part of being comfortable with yourself is treating others with kindness and compassion. It’s really difficult to be genuinely happy when you’re stepping on someone. The way you feel about yourself deep inside is reflected in how you perceive and interact with others. When you live a life of introspection, openness, flexibility and balance, you welcome other perspectives without feeling threatened. Here are some ideas to move past struggling with political correctness:

Be happy with yourself so you can treat others positively.
Get to know yourself well so you can get to know others.
Look beyond your own immediate needs.
Practice empathy and kindness.
Consider other points of view without feeling attacked.
Let go of the need to control or dominate others.

It takes conscious and deliberate effort to think of others and behave in a kind, empathic, respectful way. The key to living a fulfilling life is to be so happy about who you are that you do everything in your power not to hurt other people. What will you do to increase your self-awareness to treat yourself and others well?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Facts

May 3, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-awareness and facts compliment each other because you can’t live authentically unless you’re willing to look at who you really are and what you actually do in life. People run into all kinds of trouble when they ignore what’s really happening inside and around them. It’s very difficult to pretend you’re someone you’re not and deny how you think and behave. Here are some signs that you may be ignoring the facts:

You think in ways that are based on fiction rather than verifiable reality.
You have an image of yourself that doesn’t match your actions.
When you try to fact check your thoughts and beliefs, you have difficulty finding empirical evidence to back them up.
Your facts are based on fears or hurts you possess deep inside.
Your facts cover up who you really are.
The image you show the world is not the real you.
You don’t do any work to become healthier or more balanced.
You have various areas of your inner life in conflict with each other.
You have to justify and rationalize your actions to yourself and others.
You feel dissatisfied and unfulfilled inside.

Just reading this list is exhausting and deflating because it’s the opposite of self-awareness, fulfillment, joy, peace, and enlightenment. Thankfully, you can take a candid look at yourself any time you choose and move in a more positive direction by examining the actual results of your thoughts and behaviors. What will you do to pay attention to the facts in your life?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Helps You Take Action to Succeed

May 2, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-awareness helps you take action to succeed because, when you understand yourself and others’ emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, you are better able to grasp what you need to do to make your dreams come true.

The only thing that separates those who succeed from those who don’t is follow through. Many of us can envision doing something but we don’t take any steps to actually do it. I work with my clients to help them understand that they really can do anything they want. Think about the following steps next time you wish you could do something and use them to motivate yourself to do them:

1. What do you want to do? This is your goal.
2. What can you do today to move toward your goal? This gets you moving.
3. What will you do within one month to keep doing things.
4. Keep doing it.

It’s difficult to complete or succeed in any endeavor if you don’t work on building self-awareness and actually start doing things. Once you begin taking action the only thing you have to worry about it how to keep going. You will naturally run into roadblocks and challenges. You will learn a lot about yourself based on how you keep yourself motivated.

Once you realize that you don’t have to give up your hopes and dreams and that you can really do something about transforming your life, you can begin enjoying the fruits of your labor. What will you do to develop self-awareness and take action to succeed?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Dealing with Co-Dependence

May 1, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Self-awareness is a great tool for dealing with co-dependence because, when you understand your and others’ emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, you’re well-equipped to build and enjoy positive, healthy relationships.

Co-dependence takes a toll on relationships because it makes people behave in ways that focus more on others than themselves. A wife lives through trying to please her husband or children, a boyfriend stays with his girlfriend who has an addiction because taking care of her makes him feel valued.

Co-dependence arises when you ignore your own needs and focus your energy on someone else. Some of the signs of co-dependence are: A lack self-awareness or self-esteem, a need to feel in control in an out of control situation, insecurity, compensating for someone else’s issue, or a lack of clear boundaries. The common denominator is that you don’t control your own life because you’re living through someone else.

The good news is that you can redirect your energy to build yourself up instead of always worrying about others. Clearly defining who you are and what you need helps you break away from living through someone else. For example: The mom who says, “I live to make cookies for my kids,” is often not living for herself because she needs constant reinforcement from the outside to make her feel valued whereas the mom who actively works on finding out who she really is and pursuing her own dreams is more likely to find meaning inside herself.

You can feel better about yourself and stop living through others by doing things that increase your self-awareness and help you feel positive about who you are. The next time you feel obsessed by what someone else is doing, remember that you can’t live through someone else and your happiness doesn’t depend on them. Try doing something positive that builds you up and increases your self-awareness. Feel good about the person you are without outside validation. Once you learn how to take care of yourself you can build healthy, two-way relationships rather than co-dependent ones.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and reduce co-dependence in your life?

Cheers,

Guy

Living Courageously with Self-Awareness

May 1, 2023 - The Self-Awareness Guy

Living courageously requires building your self-awareness and doing things that are difficult and uncomfortable, such as:

Healing your inner hurts.
Daring to pursue your dreams.
Admitting mistakes.
Writing poetry.
Doing things to make the world a better place.
Advocating for people who lack power.
Standing up to injustice.
Showing the world the real you.
Feeling your feelings.
Letting your voice be heard.

Anyone can just let life happen to them. The challenge is to strive for deeper meaning and substance, an existence you can be proud of because you made a significant difference in some way, and not just for yourself. I enjoy connecting with people who value self-awareness because they are often the ones discussing the difficult topics that no one else wants to delve into.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and live courageously?

Cheers,

Guy