Self-Awareness: How well do you know yourself?
“Strong people have a strong sense of self-worth and self-awareness; they don’t need the approval of others.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Have you ever stopped in the middle of your feelings (anger, hurt, anxiety, fear etc.) to question why you are feeling that way? Questioning these feelings more often than not puts you on a path to self-awareness.
According to the authors of “How to become a better leader,” this is seen as one of the most important skills a leader can develop. This is because it deals with both the internal and external components of our lives, it is also a component of emotional Intelligence. This further implies that you cannot claim to be emotionally intelligent if you are not self-aware. Self-awareness is an essential skill that can be cultivated over time. It is a culture that needs to be cultivated by individuals who are interested in their personal development because it will open their eyes to their strengths and weaknesses thereby giving them a direction in life and decision making.
What is self-awareness?
In simple terms, self-awareness means understanding yourself and how other people see you in order to create a positive impact both to oneself and to his/her environment.
According to Any McManus, self-awareness is the ability to look at your own words and actions from a perspective outside of yourself; to see yourself as others see you.
There are two sides to self-awareness;
Internal Self-Awareness: This is usually associated with what our; values, belief systems, emotions, and reactions to external factors are. It deals with how we see ourselves and what triggers us. This truly affects our personal lives as it guides our decisions and sole intentions. It also enables us to choose the right career, the right partner and even the right environment.
External Self Awareness: This means understanding how people see you in terms of your; character, opinion, values, emotions, belief systems etc. People that are externally aware prove to be more emphatic and respond well to situations.
Self-awareness is a skill and unfortunately, just a handful of people possess this skill. According to research, an estimate of about 10–15% of individuals interviewed are truly self-aware.
In the study of self-awareness, there are four (4) archetypes (Examples) of human personalities.
Everyone can see themselves in one of these matrices, some are low on internal self-awareness and high on external awareness(i.e. Pleasers), some are low on both ends (i.e. seekers), some others can also be low on external awareness and high on internal awareness (i.e. Introspectors) whatever level you find your self there is a need to rise to the point of being AWARE (This is the level where you are both high on internal and external self-awareness).
Reading to this point means you are already on the path to discovering yourself. Here are some proven practical steps to cultivate and live in the realm of self-awareness;
Take out time for yourself:
This may look difficult these days as people are easily distracted by their smart devices and other attention-seeking activities from society. But, the fact is that this simple act can have a transformative reaction to you. This allows you to self reflect and get to know yourself more. During this period, you can ask yourself questions about what drives your passion and what makes you angry questions like these answered in sincerity can reveal yourself to you.
Commit to write something about yourself:
This action could be done at least 3–4 times a week, try to know what triggers positive emotions in you. In doing this, you will reveal to yourself the patterns of behaviour that makes you happy and motivated. But first, you must make that commitment.
Ask for feedback from people close to you:
This gives you a hint on your external self-awareness level. when asking for feedback about your self, it is important to receive it with joy and try not to raise those defensive walls because they will put you back to your delusions. Asking for feedback helps us to know what people think about you and how you can better improve.
Be curious:
Understanding ourselves never ends, new situations and environments can bring fresh triggers to light. So, there is need to be curious to know about yourself the more. Take steps to understand yourself, tell yourself those hard truths because they are the maps that will lead you to the better version of your self.
In taking these steps, you will begin to notice how self-aware you have become in such a short period. Self Awareness has a lot of benefits and developing such a skill will give you an opportunity to enjoy these benefits as they come.
I hope you take these steps, they are truly rewarding.
