Self-awareness is the precursor to any personal change or growth.
You have to be aware of something before you can do something about it, right?
To lose fat, you must first recognize that you have fat you want to lose. To become more assertive, you must first recognize that you lack assertiveness. To become a Pokemon master, you must first recognize that you gotta catch em all.
Awareness, then action. That’s the name of the game.
But the thing is, most people lack self-awareness. Because we are completely absorbed by our thoughts 24/7, we gain no perspective. Like the fish who is unaware of the water surrounding them throughout life. We become oblivious to ourselves. We fail to recognize useless (and sometimes destructive) reoccurring patterns, let alone give ourselves opportunities to correct them.
Nothing like a first-grade-lookin-cartoon-drawing, right?
Self-awareness is turning on the lights, allowing you to see everything you couldn’t see when in the dark.
It is the first step in creating any change in life.
So here’s 2 easy tricks to build self-awareness and assess your own behavior:
1. Draw your perception back.
Don’t be absorbed by your mind. Exist beyond it.
“The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” -Robin S. Sharma
You’re not your thoughts. You’re the consciousness behind your thoughts. You’re the sky and your thoughts are merely clouds passing by.
Deepak Chopra sums up that concept nicely here (at 1:37):
Allow yourself to witness your mind’s incessant activity, without attaching to it.
Draw your perception back and you’ll be able to objectively assess yourself. You’ll get a bird’s eye view of your thoughts, feelings, emotions, behavior, habits…etc.
2. Write things down.
Writing things down makes them more tangible. It also allows us to assess ourselves from different angles than we’re used to, providing useful new insights. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something magical about the act of writing things down. It always does the trick.
Keep a journal. And write unfiltered. Just write everything on your mind. No one’s going to read it. It’s for your eyes only. Writing with no filter will give you an objective look at yourself, which is crucial.
Log how you act/react in different situations. Write about experiences in your life and your thoughts about them.
Log how your body feels in different situations. Being conscious of your body is an invaluable skill to have (because we only get one in this lifetime). One idea is writing how you react to different foods. This has really helped me familiarize myself with my body and nutrition. It builds tremendous body awareness as well. I’ve had a lot of realizations by doing this, like recognizing that pasta bloats me like Snorlax at a chinese buffet (that’s Pokemon reference #2 if you’re keeping track).
Write down your goals, desires and aspirations. Make a bucket list. Recognize what you want out of life, and give yourself things to work towards.
Write down any noticeable changes in your life and how you feel about it. The mere act of writing things down results in self-awareness. And from there you can make the decision to do something about it.
Okay then.
Apply those 2 simple tips and you will greatly increase your self-awareness. You’ll be able to recognize your thoughts, feelings, emotions, habits…etc. And once you become more self-aware, you have the power to steer your life in any direction you choose.
Self-awareness acts as a platform to launch from.
Blast off.
-Stevie P!
