Self-Knowledge

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

Self-Awareness and Being Damaged

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

Self-awareness is a quality that is in short supply in deeply damaged people because they tend to behave unconsciously, based on their inner pain. When someone is hurt at a core level and lashes out based on those inner wounds, it’s a visceral reaction rather than one based on careful deliberation. Here are some characteristics of a deeply damaged person:

  • Thinking, feeling and behaving negatively based on past hurts.
  • Lack of empathy toward others.
  • Rigid thinking and inability to consider other points of view.
  • Inability to heal.
  • Reluctance to change, stuck in current way of doing things.
  • Lashing out at others based on unresolved issues inside himself.
  • Unwilling to examine what causes his inner turmoil.
  • Lack of understanding of what will really make him happy.
  • Seeks approval from people who don’t really value him.
  • Pattern of negative relationships.
  • Harsh, hard, commanding personality on the outside, fragile on the inside.
  • Lies to self and others to justify incongruous, inconsistent thoughts and beliefs.
  • Treats other people poorly, a reflection of his inner feelings about himself.

If you’ve ever met a person like this, you’ve probably gotten a creepy feeling about them, unless you fall into this category, in which case the behavior seems normal. Thankfully, even deeply troubled people can change the course of their lives by replacing their old thoughts and behaviors with more positive ones. It’s a long and arduous process, but anyone with the will to let go of the damage and love themselves is capable of doing it.

The key to being genuinely happy in life is to think and behave positively to make the world a better place for yourself and others. Self-awareness allows you to take a careful, meaningful look at yourself and heal the hurts that keep you from being your true, shiny self. What will you do to move beyond the damage?

Cheers,

Guy

self-awareness consulting

Self-Awareness Leads to Real Happiness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Leads to Real Happiness

/ / Self-Awareness / , , , , ,

A lot of people claim they’re happy and then think, say, and do things that indicate they’re not. The thing I like so much about self-awareness is that it’s an actual path to happiness, not just some false assertion. Here’s how it works:

  1. You take an ongoing, honest, candid look at yourself, examining your strengths and areas for improvement.
  2. You identify the parts of your life that don’t lead to joy, these are often the remnants of your formative years when you were hurt in some way.
  3. You feel all the emotions related to your past hurts and actively work on healing them. You go to therapy if necessary.
  4. You begin forming a clear picture of your whole self.
  5. What you feel, think, say, and do all follow the same path and don’t conflict with each other.
  6. You identify who you genuinely are deep inside and what you really want to do with your life.
  7. You take action every day to live life as the real you.
  8. Your level of kindness and compassion toward yourself and others keeps growing.
  9. You feel, think, and behave positively toward yourself and others; not just say you do.
  10. You become so happy inside that you make the world a better place for everyone.

If you value self-awareness, you’re likely doing one or several of these things right now and you’re on your way to living a peaceful, loving, balanced, dynamic, fulfilling, healthy life. What does real happiness mean to you?

Cheers,
Guy

Live the One Life You Have with Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Live the One Life You Have with Self-Awareness

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

I always encourage people to live the one life they have with self-awareness because it will help them navigate all the challenges they will face. Once you understand your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, you’ll be able to live a deeply fulfilling, meaningful existence.

Perspective frequently makes the difference in the choices you make in life. If you feel a sense of urgency, you are more likely to try to accomplish a task. People motivate themselves in different ways but a key characteristic of those who create movement is a sense that they have to get it done.

You only have one life to live so you might as well make the most of it. Why then is it that people spend incredible amounts of time and effort on everything but what is truly meaningful to them? It’s almost as if someone told them along the way that they couldn’t accomplish what they wanted in life. So they settle for what comes their way, focusing on subsistence rather than growth.

A positive way to improve self-awareness and begin redirecting your thoughts is to ask yourself, “If I only had one week to live, what would I want to do?”

Life is a precious and finite gift. Why would anyone choose to live it without doing something they really love? Think about your own situation and think about what you really want to do in life. Then put some thought into increasing self-awareness and what you can actually do to incorporate your dreams into your everyday life. As you begin working on your dreams, you will begin feeling happier and more balanced because you are connecting with who you really are. Life is just funner when you’re doing stuff you like.

Build in some urgency starting today. What will you do to improve your self-awareness and live the life you really want to?

Cheers,

Guy

Using Self-Awareness to Be Successful - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Using Self-Awareness to Be Successful

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

You can use self-awareness to be successful because you’re able to clearly see what your strengths and areas for improvement are. People try to achieve success in different ways. Some people believe a workshop will create success in their lives, others rely on some outside person to make them successful, some think if they work way too many hours it will bring success. There are a couple of characteristics I have noticed in successful people that I thought I’d share with you.

Success Secrets of Self-Aware, Successful People

  • Have a goal in mind.
  • Keep going even when things get tough.
  • Believe in themselves even when others don’t.
  • Set realistic and manageable goals.
  • Set themselves up for success.
  • Do things to understand themselves honestly.
  • Are open to outside help and scrutiny.
  • Understand that success is something you create.
  • Work intelligently, not just to be busy.
  • Follow their passion.
  • Always work on improving their self-awareness.

Try a few of these ideas on for size and see what they do for your success quotient. Successful people are those who follow their dreams and keep walking even when the road seems impassable. What will you do to increase self-awareness and move toward success?

Cheers,

Guy

Getting Rid of Destructive Pride with Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Getting Rid of Destructive Pride with Self-Awareness

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

A lot of people who lack self-awareness believe that pride means being as outwardly tough and invulnerable as possible. They’ll insist they’re proud of doing something or being a certain way even when they’re not. This type of thinking produces people who can never back down, admit being wrong, or change their minds. They present a strong facade but are internally shattered and don’t possess the self-awareness to change direction.

True pride is not how much bravado you project or how strong your shell is, it’s how you actually feel about yourself deep inside and how genuinely self-aware, balanced, and fulfilled you are. People who are willing to take a look at who they are and make the necessary adjustments are much more likely to live happily than those who only focus on projecting invincibility.

Being proud really means being at peace with yourself by living life as the real you, not just pretending you’re doing it. Constructive pride is the ability to feel great about who you are as a person at every level, without any rationalizations or qualifications. What will you do to develop self-awareness and move beyond destructive pride?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Rigid Beliefs - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and Rigid Beliefs

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

If you have a high level of self-awareness you will tend not to have rigid beliefs. A lot of well-meaning people try to convert others to their way of thinking or impose their ideas upon them when the true path to happiness and balance is to know themselves so well that they’re comfortable in their own shoes and don’t feel like they have to change others.

When you genuinely like yourself you will discover that you are open to other people’s ideas, even when they’re different. The trap many people fall into is thinking that their way of seeing the world or perceiving situations is the only acceptable view. They see the world through a single filter and, because they’re trying to convert everyone to their beliefs, are certain that everyone else is trying to do the same.

Genuine self-awareness allows you to let go of trying to change other people and focus instead on becoming the happiest, healthiest most balanced and genuine individual you can be. As you become more flexible, you open the door to all kinds of new and wonderful ideas and perspectives and you become a more complete person. What will you do to let go of rigid beliefs?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and How You Relate to People - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness and How You Relate to People

/ / Self-Awareness / , , , ,

When you possess a high level of self-awareness you relate to people more effectively because you’re comfortable with yourself and are able to step outside your own brain and connect with others on a deeper level. If you have a difficult time getting along with others or are uncomfortable in social situations there are some things you can do:

  • Get to know yourself well and be as happy and healthy inside as you can be.
  • Consistently think and do positive things.
  • Avoid justifying or rationalizing your behaviors that don’t build positive relationships.
  • Work on healing your inner hurts and resolving the difficult issues in your life so they don’t get in the way of building positive relationships.
  • Be in touch with your entire range of feelings.
  • Actively pursue your dreams so you can help others do the same.
  • Don’t assume other people think or act like you, accept their way of doing things.
  • Treat people with kindness and compassion.
  • Learn how to trust others.
  • Collaborate with others instead of competing with them.

The happier and healthier you are inside the easier it will be to get along with others. What will you do to relate well with the people in your life?

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy