Today, we live in a world where everything is fast-paced. In the morning when we wake up, we have to get up early to prepare for the day ahead. This can include going to work or taking care of the children. In most cases, it is both.
Sometimes life may throw us a curveball and throw in a medical condition or another mouth to feed. We are constantly worrying about the bills and getting to work on time. The car breaks down and needs to be taken to the garage.
For all of these things, we end up developing mechanisms that can deal with these things. If something happens, we simply handle it automatically. If something were to happen outside of the norms and mechanisms that we’re used to, we end up feeling lost.
We live and operate on autopilot most of the time.
We do not take the time to take in our surroundings. We don’t have the time to pick up on details that are around us. These details are important for our brains to gather and process information. This is how life is experienced. Paying attention to these things can be defined as awareness.
On the other hand, we also have things happening inside us. Things like touch, taste, smell, emotions, sensations, and thoughts. These things can spice up our lives. However, we focus on meeting the goals we have set for ourselves, we end up missing out on these things.
What is self-awareness?
This can be defined as paying attention to the things that are happening inside of us.
We have thoughts and expressions, we experience strong emotions, we experience wonderful sights and smells.
Self-awareness if knowing that we experience all these wonderful things. It is as if we are an outside person observing ourselves. It is knowing what is going on in the inside, what makes up our personalities.
Developing self-awareness helps us understand what other people are going through. It also helps us understand what it is they feel towards us. It is the first step toward developing empathy. It is also an important component of self-control.
The more we learn about our inner selves, the more self-aware we are. However, it goes beyond just learning about ourselves. It is paying attention while having an open mind and an open heart.
A mind is a powerful tool. It stores our reactions to certain things in order to come up with an appropriate emotional response to things. These stored reactions can influence how we handle similar emotional stimuli. Self-awareness helps us recognize these responses and this is a step towards freeing ourselves from them.
People who are self-aware tend to be psychologically healthy and have a positive attitude towards life. They are more likely to have better life experiences. They also tend to be more compassionate towards others and even express empathy.
Self-awareness allows us to adapt their mindset to properly analyze and calmly deal with situations that may arise. This results in greater decision making in the long run.
How does mindfulness increase self-awareness?
Mindfulness is the mental state where we become aware of our present surroundings, and recognize our feelings, thoughts, and sensations. Mindfulness can be practiced and achieved through meditation.
Mindfulness also means accepting our thoughts and emotions without judging them. It also helps us let go of things we take for granted.
Mindfulness is the key to unlock and increase self-awareness.
Two cornerstones of mindfulness; non-judgmental thoughts and attention are the starting points to gaining knowledge about ourselves.
A lot of us like to exaggerate our good qualities in order to boost self-esteem or get rid of negative feelings. Non-judgmental observation can help with reducing feelings of ineptitude. It can also help deal with issues brought on by low self-esteem.
Another important thing needed to develop self-awareness is knowledge of self. We may not have enough information needed to assess ourselves accurately. We may encounter problems when it comes to observing non-verbal behaviors and traits.
What can we do to improve self-awareness?
In the middle of an uncomfortable conversation, we may not know whether we were wincing or twiddling our thumbs. Mindfulness can help us become aware of that grimace we just pulled when we heard the ex was getting married.
Learning how our body responds to certain situations will help us understand ourselves better. It also helps us understand how others view us and perceive us. If our body language communicates to the person next to us that we are tense, they may mirror us. However, if we’re relaxed about the situation, they will relax as well and open up.
Reading books helps us narrow down and identify which topics pique our interests. What we read builds us. We most often find ourselves going back to read more on topics that we’re interested in. This is a key ingredient that makes successful people.
Observing others can be a good way to improve our self-awareness. Watching the traits, behaviors, and mannerisms of others can give us insight into our own behavior.
We can then use that information to help us achieve our aims.
Engaging in individual sport and exercise is a good way to learn more about ourselves. Decision-making skills and responsibility improve significantly the more we know ourselves.
A good way to increase our self-awareness is to write. It can either be a journal or something in long prose form. Pouring out what we feel helps us to learn more about ourselves.
Whenever we are facing feelings or sensations that we may not be familiar with, it is always good to explore. A good way to do this is to ask ourselves why. Why is it that this certain action makes us feel this way?
As humans, whenever we are faced with a conclusion that we cannot explain, we tend to make assumptions. Questioning those assumptions is a good way to practice self-awareness.
Increasing levels of self-awareness ensure that we get the most out of our lives. By narrowing down our likes and dislikes, having greater emotional control and making better decisions, we are now able to have a fulfilling life.