Self Awareness: How Do We Become More Self Aware?

Self awareness…what the hell is it? And why should you care? Well self awareness is when one is aware of their thoughts, feelings, motives and desires. Sounds pretty simple and you’d think “isn’t everyone self aware? I already know myself!” You’d be surprised how not self aware we are. I mean it is hard to judge ourselves after all. We have a bias of who we think we are a.k.a confirmation bias. There is the person we think we are, the person we try to be and the person we actually are.

The reason why self awareness is important is because it helps us make better decisions for ourselves and our choices in life. Self awareness helps us monitor our inner world. It’s similar to when you become aware of people or things in your life a.k.a your outer world. When you are aware of yourself, it makes it easier to identify things and correct them. It helps us to become not only compassionate towards other but also towards ourselves.

In my personal opinion I also think lack of self awareness comes from mistreatment in the past as a child and inability to trust yourself and your own judgments. When we are taught to feel insecure about ourselves and our decisions it teaches us to bury our genuine feelings deep down to the point where we aren’t 100% aware of ourselves.

But don’t worry! it’s a pretty easy fix. There are a bunch of things you can do to become more self aware.

Spend Time With Yourself

The most important relationship you’ll ever have is one with yourself. If the relationship between you and you isn’t good then how can any relationships outside of yourself be good? Get comfortable doing things alone like going for a walk or going out to eat. Have a talk with yourself about what you want in life, your values, your goals etc. You know, all the good stuff. Learn your likes and your dislikes. Take time out of your day everyday, at least fifteen minutes to ask yourself how you are doing.

Journal

I’ve said this in the past be journaling your thoughts out really helps you figure them out. Have you ever said something out loud or wrote about it and then realized why something was happening or you figured out an issue? When you are writing, you are getting the thoughts out which then helps make it easier to decode them. You also have on paper your thought process which then can help you point out patterns in your thinking. Try writing something that’s been on your mind and watch the ideas flow out.

Be A Good Listener

There’s a huge difference between hearing someone and then listening. Listening is not only hearing someone but acknowledging what they are saying and not just judging or thinking of what to say next. It’s learning how to be empathetic. This may be scary but ask a trusted friend or family member what they think of you. It’s important they are a trusted person because you can’t listen to every tom dick and harry’s opinion.

Listen to what they are saying rather then getting defensive or take it as an attack. Practice listening in other ways too like when someone is venting or talking about something. Practicing listening helps us to be able to hear our own voice and needs

Gain Other Perspectives

Listening can be the easy part. The real hard part is taking on others perspectives. If we just stick to what we know and stick to only our perspectives then we can’t grow as humans. You don’t always have to agree with what others are saying but it’s important to try to see where they are coming from or why they think that way.

There has to be a reason they are saying what they are. They most likely did not pull it out of thin air. Take in the feedback instead of dismissing it. Like I said earlier we can’t judge ourselves efficiently. The outside perspectives help mold us to become more self aware.

What do you guys think about self awareness? Do you struggle with self awareness? Do you have more to add? Leave it all in the comments below! 

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