*The article is developed in partnership with BetterHelp
Have you ever sat and thought about why you are the way you are? Many people tend to go through life aimlessly, being pulled from one direction to another without much reflection. However, those with self-awareness take charge of their lives, forging the way toward success, life satisfaction, and healthy relationships. Here, we’ll speak more about the power of self-awareness and discuss how to cultivate more of it in your life.
What Is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness refers to your ability to understand and accept your values, beliefs, thoughts, behaviors, and feelings from an objective perspective. Instead of telling yourself what you’d like to hear or think, it involves allowing yourself to be real and vulnerable, even if you don’t like what you see.
Once you’re able to recognize the kind of person you are, you can come to understand how your behaviors and emotions are influenced by your values, beliefs, feelings, and so on. Then, you can leverage this knowledge to make positive changes in your life and experience growth.
The Power Of Self-Awareness
Having a high level of self-awareness can set you apart from other people, whether at school, at work, or in your personal life and relationships. When you’re self-aware, you’re often more in control of your emotions and behaviors and can respond to the world and other people with a balanced mindset. Many people lack this kind of self-control, which makes it difficult for them to make healthy choices and communicate with others rationally.
Self-awareness can also enable you to see different perspectives and remove biases that may be causing you to jump to conclusions or make assumptions. When you’re able to see the world for what it is, it can help you navigate different situations with mental clarity and confidence, ultimately allowing you to influence outcomes in different areas of your life.
How To Develop Self-Awareness
Learning how to become more self-aware can be a lengthy process requiring consistency and dedication. The following are some ways you can begin to expand your awareness of your inner world:
- Take a personality test: Personality tests can provide you with insight into your unique personality, allowing you to understand why you interact with the world as you do. Tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Big Five personality trait test can indicate your likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, needs, preferences, and social tendencies. Having this information can allow you to discover areas for personal development, inform your career choices, help you nurture stronger relationships, and much more. To learn more about how personality tests can increase your understanding of yourself, visit betterhelp.com/advice/general/learn-about-yourself-what-kind-of-person-am-i-quiz/.
- Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness can be a powerful tool in developing self-awareness, as it can encourage you to live in the present and pay close attention to your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Recognizing how you’re interacting with the world can help you decide whether to continue in those same patterns or make changes in your life. To practice mindfulness, sit somewhere quiet, focus on your breathing, and accept the thoughts and sensations that arise in your mind and body without judging or interpreting them.
- Write in a journal: Writing your thoughts and feelings down in a journal can help you reflect on your experiences and behaviors, assessing whether you’re living in alignment with your goals and values. You can also see how you’ve grown over time by reading old entries, which can serve as a source of inspiration and accountability.
- Stay curious about yourself: Curiosity often goes hand in hand with self-awareness. When you continually seek to learn more about yourself with an open mind, you can reflect on your emotional state and underlying motivations with acceptance rather than judgment. Instead of feeling shameful or embarrassed about your innermost desires, you can make positive improvements in your life, boosting your self-esteem and confidence in the process.
- Find an accountability partner: An accountability partner is someone in your life whom you trust and can share your thoughts and feelings with openly. This individual understands your goals in life and checks in with you regularly to ensure you’re on the right track to reach them. Discussing your aspirations with an accountability partner can help you develop a greater awareness of your strengths and areas of potential growth. This person can also help you come up with tools to help you stay focused and hold you responsible when you aren’t giving your full effort to your goals.
These tips may serve as helpful starting points as you grow in self-awareness. However, it’s important to note that numerous other resources and methods can also be helpful along your journey, making it important to keep an open mind and continually search for ways to learn more about yourself.
Conclusion
Developing self-awareness is a process, and it’s okay to start with small steps. Humans are complex creatures, and even a lifetime wouldn’t be enough time to learn everything there is to know about yourself. Whether you’re seeking to learn more about your skills, imperfections, values, or personality, each of these aspects is important and deserving of your attention. So, embrace your journey of self-discovery and remember that you’re never truly done learning.
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