Self-Knowledge

Using Self-Awareness to Improve Relationships

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You can use self-awareness to improve your relationships starting today because, when you understand how your emotions, thoughts, and actions affect your interactions with others, you’re better able to connect with them positively and understand where they’re coming from.

It’s easy to focus exclusively on our own perspective in relationships. We tend to think of our relationship issues in terms we are familiar with and this often means we keep repeating the same patterns and acting the same way we always have. This works well if we get great results but what happens if our behaviors always lead to less than satisfactory relationships.

We all know people who lack self-awareness and never quite resolve their differences with others, and we watch them repeat the same pattern over and over. I’ve noticed that it is helpful to let in some new information and get a fresh perspective. When we let new information in it’s like opening a window in a stuffy room, we can breathe better and think more clearly. Think about some of the following ideas next time you feel stuck in your relationship.

1. Who can I turn to that is not involved in my situation and can give me impartial advice?
2. Am I willing to let an outside person offer me advice?
3. How open am I to talking about personal issues with an outside person?
4. How open am I to doing the work necessary to move in a different direction?
5. What actions will I commit to doing?

Think about these questions and keep in mind that none of us has all the answers but we all have the ability to improve our self-awareness and acquire new information if we are open enough. Let some air in, enjoy a fresh perspective and start moving in a new direction. What will you do to increase your self-awareness so you can improve your relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

How to Achieve Goals and Increase Self-Awareness

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Here are some practical tips to achieve goals and increase self-awareness:

  • Pick one issue you want to work on. Define it as specifically and narrowly as possible.
  • Keep your goal manageable. For example: “I will write one chapter of my book,” “I’m going to work on 50 books.” This sets you up for success instead of feeling disappointed because you took on too much at once.
  • Monitor your progress and celebrate as you go along. When you accomplish one task, congratulate yourself and reflect on the great work you did.
  • Keep taking small steps even when you don’t feel like it. You will feel at times that nothing positive is happening. Keep pushing through those thoughts by continuing to take action.

An important part of self-awareness is to keep things manageable and work little by little. It’s the small steps that eventually lead to big results.

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Your Perspective

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Perspective affects everything you do in life. For example: A person in Bangladesh living in complete poverty can be very happy while a person in an affluent neighborhood in the United States can be miserable. Your level of self-awareness affects your perspective on life because, when you’re comfortable with your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, you’re able to maintain a positive outlook.

Perspective is the way you see the world based on your self-awareness and personal experiences. If you filter out the positive, you tend to focus on the things that aren’t going well. If you filter out the negative, you’re better able to see the beneficial side of things. A great example of perspective is found in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Tiny Tim doesn’t have use of his legs but he doesn’t wallow in self pity, he forges on and is a source of strength for his family.

You’re faced with important choices throughout your life. At any moment you can choose your perspective and that will lead you down a certain path. Try this simple exercise: The next time you feel you can’t overcome an obstacle, consciously tell yourself, “I can handle this,” or some other positive affirmation. This will help you shift from a negative to a positive perspective.

It’s amazing what can happen when you choose a perspective that gives you the power to move forward rather than staying stuck. What will you do to view the world from a positive perspective?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness Leads to Success in Life and Your Career

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Many people who lack self-awareness spend a lifetime searching for the secret to success when it is in front of them the whole time. There really isn’t a magic secret to being successful in life and your career, it just requires purposeful action. Purposeful action means that we behave in a fully conscious manner and think about every action that we take. We don’t leave things to chance, except when appropriate, and we purposefully do things to improve things about ourselves. We don’t let life happen to us, we make it happen.

Thinking successfully requires that we build self-awareness and re-program some of our previous thought patterns. We benefit from consciously moving past the messages about not being successful or having to rely on others for our fulfillment. We also purposefully leave behind the self-talk about not being able to achieve greatness or not deserving a good life. Our new way of thinking allows us great freedom because we get to create success by simply doing things that lead in that direction.

The following steps will help you achieve what you want in life but there is one condition: You have to do them. Take some time to walk yourself through these ideas slowly and deliberately, the answers will lead you toward your dreams and aspirations.

1. Identify something you want to achieve in life.
2. Brainstorm different tasks that will help you achieve your goal.
3. Pick one task and follow it through to completion. Assign yourself a realistic time limit.

When you are done with these three steps repeat them by going back to your brainstorm list and working on one of the other ideas or by starting at number one again. Use these steps to keep moving and continue taking action toward your dreams. Here’s what the process might look like as you answer the questions:

1. I want to start my own business . (This is where you identify your dream).

2. Tasks involved in starting my business: (This is where you brainstorm ideas).
a. What kind of business.
b. Taking a class in starting a business.
c. Making contacts.
d. Talking to business people.

3. I will decide what kind of business really excites me. I will do this within the next week. (This is where you choose a task and complete it).

When you complete number three, then simply repeat. Success is based on continuous movement and action and going through these steps helps you keep going. If you don’t actually do stuff you never get beyond the idea phase, you benefit greatly from completing tasks. Before you know it you will be on your way to completing one, two, ten, forty, fifty tasks and you will be moving down the road you used to only dream of.

People who lack self-awareness get stuck because they keep repeating the same actions over and over. These three steps allow you to interrupt that cycle. With each action you complete you become stronger and more successful. Don’t worry too much about what goal you choose or what action to take, it is the act of doing things that creates the change in your life.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and be successful in life and your career?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Healing Your Hurts

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Self-awareness helps you begin healing your hurts by encouraging you to take a conscious look at the things that bring you discomfort in life and that need some attention. Many people walk through life carrying some unresolved pain that keeps them from being a genuinely happy, expansive person. It’s impossible to live fully or authentically if you allow certain memories to hold you back. The good news is that you can use self-awareness to examine who you are and deal with the challenges from your past.

Healing your hurts isn’t easy because you have to revisit parts of your life that may be unpleasant. The key to successfully moving past the pain is to acknowledge it’s there and do everything in your power to resolve it and move past it. Once you understand and deal with the thoughts and emotions related to difficult issues, you provide yourself a new opportunity to live based on the wonderful things about you rather than being held back by the pain. What will you do to use self-awareness to start healing your hurts?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Inner Peace

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When you possess a high level of self-awareness you also experience inner peace because, when you know yourself well, you let go of a lot of the noise that gets in the way of feeling great about yourself and living the life you want to. Here are some ways self-awareness leads to inner peace:

  • You actively work on healing your hurts so you can feel better about yourself.
  • You look deep inside and discover who you really are and then live your life accordingly.
  • You become familiar with the things you do well and the things you need to improve so you can be a more effective person.
  • You let go of superficial concerns and focus on the things that really matter.
  • You attract healthier relationships because you’re healthier.
  • Each day become an opportunity to learn and grow.
  • You feel a sense of calm inside because you are more in tune with who you are.
  • You do kind things for yourself and others.
  • You make the world a better place for yourself and others.
  • Your life is more fulfilling and joyful.

A lot of people never achieve inner peace because they forget to look within. Self-awareness allow you to intimately understand who you are and live life as the real you. When you wake up each day able to enjoy being yourself, your whole existence changes.

Cheers,

Guy

How to Be Self-Aware

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Here are some tips on how to be self-aware:

  • Understand how your emotions affect you and others.
  • Understand how your thinking affects you and others.
  • Understand how your behaviors affect you and others.
  • Do something each day to heal the hurts from your past.
  • Understand where you end and others begin.
  • Get rid of the emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that affect you and others negatively.
  • Work on being the real you.
  • Work on being genuinely happy, not just pretending you are.
  • Be the most kind and compassionate person you can be.
  • Do the things you really love doing.

Having self-awareness means that you deeply know how your emotions, thoughts, and actions affect you and the people around you. When you’re self-aware, you’re able to manage yourself in such a way that you live a happy, fulfilling, balanced life. It’s the difference between living consciously and stumbling through life reacting to everything.

Cheers,

Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy