define self-awareness

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Dealing with Difficult Situations at Work - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Dealing with Difficult Situations at Work

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Leaders who possess self-awareness are adept at dealing with difficult situations at work because they are able to deal with their own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, as well as thinking about how others perceive what’s going on.

I often get questions from leaders who are diligently trying to figure out what to do in a difficult situation at work but can’t quite find an answer. Most leaders and managers care for the well-being of their employees but may not have access to resources to resolve challenges. There’s nothing terrible about this kind of situation, all you need to do is add another tool to help you deal with the matter at hand.

I encourage people to think in terms of increasing self-awareness and finding their own solutions to tough issues in the workplace. For example, spend some time thinking and doing the following:

1. What would I name this issue?

2. What are some possible solutions for the issue?

3. Which solution makes the most sense to me?

4. What do I need to do to start working on the solution?

As you answer these questions (in order) you will begin to improve your self-awareness and formulate a strategy to deal with whatever situation comes your way. If you think about it, this four-question process simply defines what you’re dealing with and narrows down your options so that you can focus on a solution.

Try using these four steps and arrive at your own carefully thought-out decisions. Dealing with tough issues doesn’t have to be complicated. Break the situation into manageable pieces and you’ll be able to work on it more effectively. What will you do to develop self-awareness and deal effectively with difficult situations at work?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Means Being Yourself - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Means Being Yourself

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There are a lot of miserable people walking around because they’re doing what their families tell them to do, what their friends want them to do, or what some external being compels them to do rather than focusing on building self-awareness and living authentically.

The true key to happiness is to be yourself and live as the real you. Over many years of consulting for individuals who value developing self-awareness, I’ve noticed that people cause themselves all kinds of unnecessary grief and tension because they don’t live in a way that reflects who they really are inside.

When you’re the authentic you it opens all kinds of doors, you meet people who understand where you’re coming from and what you’re doing. You project positive energy when you’re following your passion. Since I let go of being someone I wasn’t and became a poet, I feel better about myself and connect with people who value what I do. I really like it when people like the real me instead of some artificial persona.

What do you do to be yourself?

Cheers,

Guy

Achieve Your Dreams with Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Achieve Your Dreams with Self-Awareness

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You can achieve your dreams with self-awareness because, when you understand and can manage your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, you’re able to consciously move in whatever direction you want to.

The mistake we often make is that we live our whole lives putting our dreams on the back burner. There are several reasons this happens including fear, paying the bills, lack of planning and not believing that our dreams will come true.

People often think that thinking of their dreams is too unrealistic. The truth is that our lives tend to follow the patterns that we establish. If we think something cannot be achieved that will tend to happen.

As yourself this: What can I do today to start living my dreams? If you start believing and acting on the assumption that you can actually achieve your dreams you will begin to structure you life to make it happen.

The main message is don’t give up, there is always time to start working on what you want in life. What will you do to develop self-awareness and make your dreams a reality?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Helps Increase Clarity in Relationships - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

Self-Awareness Helps Increase Clarity in Relationships

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Self-awareness helps increase clarity in relationships because, when people understand their own emotions, thoughts, and actions, they are able to resolve issues and empathize with each other.

People in relationships often move in different directions without even knowing it. Even some of the most well-intentioned people who really care for each other experience conflict and challenges because they are not on the same page.

I’m a big supporter of clarity in relationships. Clarity is when everyone involved understands what’s going on in the relationship. It does away with assumptions, secrets, guesses, misunderstandings and frustration because we actually get to figure out what’s going on.

How to gain clarity? Practice self-awareness and use the following steps to help you get to the core of what’s happening in your relationship:

1. Each person talks uninterrupted about how they see the situation?
2. Each person listens carefully without judging, rebutting or giving advice.
3. Each person asks open ended questions to clarify what is going on.
4. The people agree on a way to proceed.

Dialogue is very important to achieving clarity. Make sure to practice listening skills and asking questions. Open-ended questions are questions that don’t lead to a yes or no answer and allow the other person to meaningfully explain where they are coming from.

This is a style of talking about relationship issues that doesn’t require confrontation; it’s just about people listening to each other and sharing their points of view. Try it sometime to gain clarity on what’s going on in your relationship.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and increase the clarity in your relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

What Are the Benefits of Self-Awareness? - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

What Are the Benefits of Self-Awareness?

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A lot of people ask me, “What are the benefits of self-awareness?” Here are some examples:

  • You know yourself better, you understand your strengths and areas for improvement.
  • You live as the real you, not someone else.
  • You heal the hurts from your past.
  • You live consciously, following your true path in life instead of just letting things randomly happen to you.
  • You learn how to emphasize the positive aspects of your personality.
  • Your thoughts match your actions and move in a positive direction.
  • You live courageously instead of fearfully.
  • You avoid making the same mistakes over and over.
  • You get along well with other people and enjoy more fulfilling relationships.
  • You do nice things for others.
  • You’re open to a wide range of ideas and experiences.
  • You make the world a better place.
  • You shine.

If you think about it, self-awareness just means that you know yourself so well that you become amazingly happy and balanced, which in turn allows you to live a wonderful life.

Cheers,

Guy

15 Benefits of Developing Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

15 Benefits of Developing Self-Awareness

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Here are fifteen benefits of developing self-awareness:

  1. You heal the hurts from your past.
  2. You’re in touch with your emotions, are able to feel them, and can use them to move in a positive direction. You’re also comfortable with other people’s emotions.
  3. You understand your strengths and areas for improvement.
  4. You treat yourself and others with kindness, empathy, and compassion.
  5. You do things to make the world a better place.
  6. You focus on the deeper things in life rather than living superficially.
  7. You get to know the real you and live your life accordingly.
  8. You let go of the need for power and control and focus instead on being the best person you can be without dominating others or having to win.
  9. People like you at home and at work.
  10. You don’t have the constant internal conflict of saying one thing and doing another.
  11. You’re generally happy and balanced, even in difficult situations.
  12. You understand why you feel, think, and do things.
  13. You learn and grow each day.
  14. You become a nice person.
  15. You enjoy life.

When you develop self-awareness you have a wonderful opportunity to move beyond all the garbage that creates conflict, chaos, confusion, and misery in your life and focus instead on living a kind, joyful, deeply introspective and fulfilling existence. When you’re fully self-aware, you no longer live day to day, reacting to everything, you get to be the real you and do what you really love in life.

Cheers,

Guy

A Practical Definition of Self-Awareness - On Developing Self-Awareness and Being Self-Aware

A Practical Definition of Self-Awareness

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Here is a practical definition of self-awareness: The process of gaining understanding of who you are and how your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors affect you and others.

A lot of people think that self-awareness is something negative or scary that will force them to face things they don’t want to. That perspective in itself indicates a lack of understanding of how important it is to be able to look at yourself so you can live consciously instead of repeating the mistakes of the past.

Proactive, forward-thinking people use self-awareness as a tool to treat themselves and others well rather than living in perpetual inner and outer discomfort or conflict. Remember, life is so much more enjoyable and fulfilling when you experience it wide awake.

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy