Self awareness, in the simplest terms, is the discovery of one’s own personality. It allows us to discover ourselves; our likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and our own individuality. John Locke wrote on his much discussed publication entitled “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” conceptualized consciousness, which according to him determines self identity.
If you want to develop a better personality, one that will help you succeed in life, the first step is to be able to know yourself. If you are conscious about your positive and negative behaviors and traits, you can easily sift through these, and keep the good ones, while getting rid of anything that will hinder you from having the personality you want.
What Comprises Self Awareness?
If you want to build a high self esteem and become more confident, you should have a sufficient level of self awareness. This means you should know these things:
1. Your goals in life
2. The things and events that make you happy, as well as those that make you sad
3. Your strengths and weaknesses
4. Your values and beliefs
5. Your philosophy in life
6. Your achievements and how you attained them
7. Your failures and what caused those, as well as what can be done to prevent them
8. Your way of relating with others
9. Your way of dealing with people, events, and things
10. How you see yourself and others
There is a huge difference between being self aware and being selfish. While the latter is all about thinking only of yourself and being greedy, the former is positive because by developing and knowing yourself, you can give more of yourself to other people, which will result in establishing stronger relationships, and at the same time, building your confidence and self esteem.
Importance of Self Awareness
Knowing yourself is essential if you want to change your life for the better. Know where you are good at, and where you need to improve on. With self awareness, it will be easy for you to seek a career in which you can excel in; you can enrich your life because you know in which direction you should go to; you will know what you want, and because of this awareness, you will be a happier person, living the life you want for yourself.
How to Develop Self Awareness
Self awareness can be enhanced through our experiences. We learn from our own mistakes, or even from other people’s mistakes. But if you want to get ahead of the game, there are other outlets by which you can develop self awareness. Among these are:
• Adhering to Good Values. There are certain values that will help you become more self- aware and these are: humility, honesty, and ambition. If you are humble enough, it will be easier for you to accept your faults and be more willing to accept criticisms and corrections. Honesty allows a person to focus on the things that need to be changed because he is true to himself. Ambition, on the other hand, motivates a person to change because he has high expectations of himself and understands that to meet those expectations; he has to do what needs to be done, including pinpointing his strengths and weaknesses.
• Using Self-Help Books. You will find a lot of literatures on the Internet which will teach you various ways to be self aware. In these self-help books are techniques which you can apply to help you be observant of yourself and build insight.
• Getting a Life Coach. There are people who make a living by becoming a mentor to those who need guidance and help to improve self. These professionals know that change and improvement starts with becoming self aware. If you are committed enough, and you have the means to hire a life coach, then go ahead.
You can only change what you know, and what you do not know, you cannot change. With this in mind, it is only proper to say that if you want to engage in personality development, you need to start by increasing your self awareness. This does not happen overnight; in fact, it is a continuous process that you need to go through for as long as necessary.
