Self Awareness
Having good self-awareness helps to increase our emotional intelligence, helping us to be the best version of our true selves. Self-awareness means to acknowledge how we are feeling at any given time. Recognising emotions as they happen and then analysing the factors that have contributed to how we are feeling. To assess the causes of our emotional state, it helps to step back from the experience, aware of what is happening rather than being immersed and lost in it. By accepting and realising that sometimes all isn’t as it seems to be, enables us to see the bigger picture. This helps us to restrain from initial judgments and way up negatives and positives more objectively. By keeping in check with our emotions as they arise it helps lower the impact of emotions on our unconscious behaviour. An example of this would be, feeling angry with a bad driver can linger if not addressed and let go off. Carrying the anger around all day so every little frustration is intensified and our bad mood can be taken out on others.
The cost to not developing high self-awareness means that will only see things in a way we wish to instead of seeking the balanced truth. This can be limiting, isolating and confrontational. Creating an impact and strain on relationships, our working environment and general living. Without self-awareness we are unable to change recurring problems, as we don’t take responsibility for how we react and behave.
To help become more self aware, it is important to reflect back on ourselves. Noticing if you took offence to something that has been said and assessing why this happened, did you take something personally. If you felt like you were being judged, reflect the reasons why you feel this way, did you seek reassurance or share too much of yourself from people that aren't in your inner circle. Another area that can cause issues is when people aren’t always clear in their communication, making hints or using sarcasm when they have a point to make. By challenging their meaning it can bring clarification and understanding, it will also prevent jumping to conclusions. Often we miss the opportunity to get clarification, which leaves us frustrated, and feeling negative. It is helpful in this situation to decide is this important to hold on to these feelings, if they aren’t serving us then let them go, and return to the present moment. This is often easier said than done, we all experience periods of time when we feel stuck and unable to think straight. When we let emotions escalate, it becomes harder to shift them into feeling balanced and positive again. Having regular supportive or monthly holistic treatments can help release negativity to help increase self-awareness, leaving you feeling more settled and contented.
When we take responsibility for our emotions, have a clear perception of our behaviour and integration with others we enforce a well established sense of self-awareness. Being self-aware, helps us gain acceptance, become the best version of ourselves, to feel in control, and contented with life.
If you found this interesting then I can recommend reading; Emotional Intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ, by Daniel Goleman
