“When you know yourself, you are empowered. When you accept yourself, you are invincible.” – Tina Lifford
Most of us spend almost all of our lives trying to live up to society’s and other people’s expectations and will never discover their true selves or who they really are until you are forced into it or when you decide to seek it. Otherwise, you are doomed to always be a reflection of what other people expect you to be.
Self-awareness (a.k.a. self-knowledge or introspection) – is about having an understanding of your inner feelings, needs, motives, and everything else that make you tick.
Being self-aware means realizing that you are the one who is in charge of your situation, that you do not depend on fate, and you are the only person who can change yourself and influence the world around you.
“Self-awareness is one of the rarest of human commodities. I don't mean self-consciousness where you're limiting and evaluating yourself. I mean being aware of your own patterns.” – Tony Robbins
Why Invest time to develop Self-Awareness?
Self-Improvement cannot be done without Self-awareness – the more you pay attention to your emotions and how you work, the better you'll understand why you do the things you do. The more you know about your own habits, the easier it is to improve on those habits.
Self-Awareness is only the Beginning – the next step is gaining the power to control them (desires, habits..etc..). You need not only become aware of your situation, but you actually need to do something about it and that is easier said than done, but it is not impossible.
Good leadership skills depend on high Self-Awareness – Great leaders understand that providing clear direction is crucial to team performance. They know their own strengths and weaknesses. See the need to seek feedback, self-reflect and attempt to always learn and improve.
Personal Finance Is More Personal Than It Is Finance – It is even one of the most taboo-topic in our society, even more so than politics, religion and sex. This is also because financial planning blends both economics and emotions. We need to be self-aware about our own self-analysis, self-interests, self-deception, self-condemnation and self-aggrandizement. All of which affects not only our investment but also business decisions.
Know thyself and develop self-awareness
How can you gain self-awareness? Here’s a list for you to start.
Start Self-Reflection and Evaluation– Do a quick self-SWOT analysis: SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. It is commonly used in business but we seldom use it on ourselves.
Ask for constructive feedback – We all have biases, asking for feedback cuts through self-deceit or other views you may hold. Seek people who will tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear.
Meditate – Solely focusing on one’s breathing, helps you become aware of how your mind wanders, and get better at skillfully snapping yourself out of distractions. It makes you become ‘present’ in the now.
Once you know who yourself, you start being you and unapologetic for who you are. Self-awareness helps you accept your past so you can create a vision for your future. It also allows one to select goals that give you the most happiness and fulfillment instead of doing what everybody else does.
“Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.”
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The writer wears many hats: RFP®–Registered Financial Planner | Licensed Real Estate Broker | Public Speaker | Content Creator- www.vernongo.com; Vice-Chair- www.cebucontentcreators.com