Self-awareness is the ability to identify how our thoughts and feelings influence our behaviors. To be self-aware, we must understand our emotions, behavior, and thinking patterns. What are thinking, behavior, and emotional patterns? I am glad you asked!
Understanding our thinking patterns means being aware of how you typically make sense of what happens. What do you expect to happen in any given situation? What do you believe that makes you think that way? Do you believe there is an alternative to what we think, or do you believe our way of thinking is the only possibility? Being able to identify the “why” behind our way of thinking allows us to identify our thinking patterns.
Understanding emotional patterns is knowing how we typically feel in different scenarios.
How well do you know your feelings and moods? Do you pay attention to and attempt to understand your emotions, or do you behave impulsively when your feelings and moods arise? Do you see negative emotions as something to be avoided or as signs from the universe to make changes? Being able to identify our understanding of how we feel allows us to understand our emotional patterns.
Understanding behavior patterns is knowing why you behave in the same manner in certain situations. Do you have an idea of the circumstances that promote certain behaviors? Do you know why you choose one behavior over another? Being able to identify our behavior response to people and situations allows us to understand our behavior patterns.
Understanding why we feel, think, and behave the way we do is a powerful tool for navigating the world around us. The advantages of self-awareness are infinite. But here are a couple…
- Improved Relationships
When you’re not crystal clear about what you want and need in a relationship, it’s challenging to ask for it and create healthy limits. How well do you know your values, for instance? Attempting to increase self-awareness is frequently the ideal strategy to enhance any partnership.
- Better Emotional Management
How you think determines how you feel. For instance, if you worry all the time, you are likely to experience anxiety all the time. But, as your self-awareness grows and you understand how your thoughts and emotions are related, you can identify the thought behind the feeling and appropriately address any situation.
- Improved Productivity
It is not always a lack of effort or commitment that leads to procrastination and low production. Bad habits, unhelpful feelings, or negative thoughts often interrupt us. Having better self-awareness can help us remove these barriers to productivity.
- Better Decision Making
When we are unaware of the why behind our thoughts and emotional responses, our decision-making is less than what it needs to be for the best outcomes, when we can better identify our thoughts and feelings, we improve our ability to identify goals and the possible impact of our choices.
We can’t deny that being self-aware is beneficial. Do you know your level of self-awareness? Does it need to improve?
How Self-Aware Are You?
I truly believe that without self-awareness, our ability to live our best lives is not possible. This month, I thought I would help you figure out how self-aware you are!
We all have varying degrees of self-awareness, and they are often shifting as we experience more life. But for the sake of this process, let’s discuss six signs that alert us to the possibility of low self-awareness.
- Never apologizing
The inability to accept responsibility is frequently a symptom of severe insecurity. Admitting wrongdoing allows judgment from others, which makes the person vulnerable. Vulnerability can be difficult when you do not understand why you are the way you are. Read last month’s blog.
On the other hand, being willing to accept responsibility for mistakes shows emotional and mental maturity. It implies that you are perceptive enough to see that while mistakes are a part of everyone’s life, they do not define who they are. Being purposely vulnerable is not easy, but it is necessary in the process of becoming more self-aware.
- Avoiding Difficult Choices
When we are indecisive, it can be a sign of low self-esteem and fear of making a mistake. As we just discussed, making a mistake makes us vulnerable, and vulnerability can be difficult for those who are not self-aware. When you know the why behind what you think, feel, and behave, you are more confident in making a decision because you know why you are making the decision.
- Poor Emotional Recognition
When we are either unable to accurately state what we are feeling or avoid admitting certain feelings, that is a sign of low self-awareness. For some of us, it is easier to admit that we are angry instead of afraid. Or stressed instead of sad. We have a way of placing certain emotions in categories that say something about who we are. If I am afraid, that might mean that I am not brave or less than in some way. When it really just means something has triggered a fear response in your body. Being self-aware allows us to understand that emotions are just messengers. They are neither good nor bad; they just are.
- Fear of the Future
We all know that we cannot control the future, but so many of us continue to spend a great deal of time doing just that. Worrying causes unnecessary stress and never provides assurance. When we are not aware of where that worry is coming from (thoughts) and why we are addressing it in this unproductive way (emotions), we continue to have the same unhelpful responses repeatedly. Knowing the why can help change the response.
- Stuck in the Past
Much like worrying about the future is a waste of time, ruminating about the past is as well. Regret and self-pity have no place in you living your best life. When we stay stuck in the past, it provides an illusion of control because we control our thoughts to go over and over what has happened. Those who are not self-aware do not understand their own strength and spend time focused on things they cannot change instead of spending that energy on moving forward with current goals and aspirations.
The self-aware person recognizes the importance of accepting past situations. They learn from the situation, pivot, and move forward, understanding the importance of not judging emotions.
We can all be more self-aware.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock
