One of the hottest words in entrepreneurship, happiness, productivity, or anything related to personal growth is self-awareness. Self-awareness is often cited as a success factor by business owners and other influential figures in the field of personal development. That may be the case, but it’s not a new idea. This quote, attributed to the 384–322 BC philosopher Aristotle, is one of the most well-known. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. “The importance of self-awareness (or getting to know oneself) is well understood. But I’ve also learned that it’s one of the most difficult things you can learn to do in your lifetime. As Benjamin Franklin famously observed: Among the most difficult things in life are steel, diamonds, and self-knowledge. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of self-awareness. The only person who can teach you self-awareness is you because everyone is unique.
Awakening to One’s True Self
Self-awareness is critical, but how do you go about gaining it? And what’s the point of it all? If you live long enough and do enough things, you will discover who you are at some point. But what if it takes 60 years to get there? I don’t have a problem waiting because I’m not a patient person. To my dismay, I find that strategy to be far too apathetic for my tastes. Examining yourself consciously, I believe, can speed up the process of becoming self-aware. What I’ve learned about myself and how I use it in my daily life will be explained to you.
To begin, I answered the following 27 questions:
- In what areas do I excel?
- What have I failed at?
- What do I do poorly?
- What is it that causes me to be exhausted?
- Why do I need so much sleep?
- The most important thing in my life is.
- Who are the people in my life who have the most impact on me?
- What causes me anxiety?
- What is it that keeps me going?
- What can I do to get my motivation back if I’ve lost it?
- What helps me unwind?
- What does it mean to be successful to me?
- What kind of free work would I do?
- Is there a time of day when I am most productive?
- What’s the best way for me to learn new things?
- Describe your ideal self in three words or less.
- Is there anything about other people’s behaviour that I don’t like?
- So, what’s the deal?
- What are some effective methods for dealing with negative emotions and thoughts?
- In what ways am I content?
- What exactly is it about this situation that has me trembling?
- What irritates me?
- My ideal type of friend is…
- Do I have a positive or negative view of my own self-worth?
- What are the things in my life that are most important to me?
- Take a moment to reflect on whether or not I’m taking anything for granted.
- What aspects of myself do I value?
If you’re interested in giving it a shot, here are some questions to get you started: As you can see, the focus is squarely on the real world. Instead of debating the proper interpretation of these questions, please refrain from engaging in such discourse. If you do that, we’ll still be doing it in eighty years’ time. The truth is that these questions are interpreted in a variety of ways by different people. And that’s exactly what I was trying to get across. Because of this, it’s referred to as self-awareness in the first place. It’s about you. For example, what are some of the things that are important to me in life? My answer is time, family, and well-being. What was your answer? There are no right or wrong answers, as you can see from this. As a practical person, I don’t like questions like “Who am I?” or “What is life?” What’s the meaning of life?” You are what you repeatedly do, and you decide what meaning you give to life. “Now what? What can I do to become more self-aware? “Honestly, it doesn’t matter how you initially answer these questions. Do not stress about getting things right because you cannot give yourself the correct answers. Questions like, “What am I bad at?” are particularly challenging. With those questions, the most important thing to do is to practise your thinking muscles by responding (don’t say “I don’t know”). The most critical step is to put your newfound knowledge to good use. Reasoning is how you do it. He referred to it as “logos” (different from the Stoic definition of logos). Aristotle’s definition of logos was best explained by historian Paul Rahe: Logos, according to Aristotle, is more than the ability to publicly express one’s private feelings; it allows the human being to perform in a way that no other animal can; it enables the human being to distinguish between beneficial and harmful, just and unjust, and good and evil through reasoned discourse.
Self-awareness is, in my opinion, the capacity to both verbalise and interpret one’s own emotions. Finding out what is good and bad for your health is your primary goal. “And then what? “Double down on the advantageous stuff and start eliminating the harmful stuff (as far as possible) (as far as possible).
Do more activities that bring you joy.
Don’t be afraid to do more of what you excel at.
Avoid things that bring you down.
Don’t do anything you’re not good at.
That’s all there is to it. Self-awareness is the ability to recognise one’s own thoughts and feelings. This process is not meant to be taken literally. You can be happy and sad at the same time in a relationship, for example. However, it doesn’t mean that you should avoid any kind of social interaction whatsoever. It’s better to stay away from the bad habits that ruin relationships, such as being ungrateful, lying, or lacking in empathy.
Nonetheless, “How do you practise logos/reasoning?”
Here are a few concepts to get you started: Read about philosophy. To get you started, I recommend Will Durant’s The Story of Philosophy. When interacting with others, maintain a neutral stance. Put forth more than just an argument. Try to see things from a variety of perspectives at all times. Think about what you’re thinking and write it down. What’s the reason for this? For instance, John’s behaviour enraged me. Why? Because he told a lie. Why? In order to avoid making me angry. Why? Because he cares about my well-being. John is a narcissistic scumbag who should know better than to lie. Talk, talk, and more talk. With the assistance of close friends, co-workers, mentors, and coaches. You can learn a lot about yourself by simply expressing your thoughts and feelings. Conversations that elicit thoughtful responses are the best kind. That’s all right. That’s how I learn about myself. Being honest with yourself is difficult introspection. As a result, most of us prefer to tell a lie rather than face the truth. The quality of my life has skyrocketed since I began consciously engaging in self-awareness exercises. Self-awareness facilitates day-to-day activities. Whether or not this procedure will work for you is up to you. What I do know is that this could be a good place to start. In order to improve your self-awareness, all you need is this.
