Self-Knowledge

Self-Awareness and Communicating Well in Relationships

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My clients often ask me what to do on a date or in a relationship when trying to start a conversation. Many people who lack self-awareness learned how to communicate in their families or with friends, so they only know one style: their own.

Learning a couple of basic skills can help you make the most of communicating with anyone. Try these ideas next time you are talking to a date or someone you are in a relationship with:

1. Listen actively.
2. Ask open-ended questions.
3. Listen actively.
4. Did I mention listening actively?

One of the easiest ways to help a conversation get started and build is to listen and ask questions. To be a self-aware, active listener try the following:

1. Look at the other person.
2. Really listen carefully and give all your attention to what the other person says rather than thinking about what you want to say next.
3. Nod or say uh-huh to indicate you are listening.

Open-ended questions are formed by asking questions that can’t be answered with a yes or no. Ask “What did you think about that?” rather than “I bet your really thought that was horrible.” The open-ended question will invite the other person to tell you more rather than answering yes or no.

Try these common sense ideas and you will be on your way to gaining a new understanding of other people. I wish you all the best as you begin mastering the art of communication. What will you do to develop self-awareness and communicate well in your relationships?

Cheers,

Guy

Self-Awareness and Flexibility

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When you possess self-awareness you’ll likely demonstrate a flexibility to adapt to different situations and change course in life when unforeseen obstacles present themselves. If you’ve ever interacted with someone who lacks flexibility, you know how tragically sad it is when they are unable to change no matter what the consequences or rewards.

One of the major characteristics of truly happy people is the ability to bend instead of break by being open to making changes, learning new things, and continually growing. Taking a candid look at yourself and making meaningful and sometimes difficult adjustments requires significant courage; being stubborn requires none.

The reward of being flexible is that you’ll understand what it is to be able to adapt and thrive regardless of the situation. The thing I love about providing guidance to people who value self-awareness is that they are open to moving in new and exciting directions instead of staying stuck in one place.

How does flexibility affect your life?

Cheers,
Guy

Self-Awareness and Expressing Your Creativity

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A big part of building self-awareness is being able to express your creativity. I’ve talked with many people over the years who deny their creativity by saying things like:

  • I’m not creative.
  • It’s hard to be creative.
  • I just stick to practical things.
  • I don’t believe in that airy-fairy stuff.
  • I’m not an artist.

These statements were probably deposited into their minds by a parent, teacher, or friend and, over time, became a way of life. You may also hear these types of messages in your head but the key is to ignore them and keep doing your thing.

If you listen to all the naysayers you’ll never follow your dreams. Pay attention to your inner voice, the one that knows how talented you are and how important what you have to say is. Keep moving forward no matter what the critics say. Continue building your self-awareness so you understand what you really want to do in life.

What will you do to develop self-awareness and express your creativity?

Cheers,

Guy

Tips for Building Self-Awareness

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Here are some tips for building self-awareness:

  • Be willing to take an honest look at yourself.
  • Celebrate your strengths.
  • Be ready to let go of old thoughts and behaviors.
  • Look at the issues in your life you want to resolve.
  • Select an issue you want to work on.
  • Brainstorm some ideas of how to deal with the issue.
  • Pick one idea to start working on.
  • Evaluate your progress.
  • Repeat the process.

Increasing your self-awareness is an ongoing, lifelong process. It’s not a quick fix because it takes time to get to know the real you and learn new strategies to live authentically. What will you do to start building self-awareness?

Cheers,

Guy

What’s Your Level of Self-Awareness?

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It can be challenging to determine what your level of self-awareness is without having some frame of reference. Here are some brief guidelines to help you figure out where you’re at:

Level 1 – You Say You Know Yourself

You say you know yourself but your description doesn’t match the reality. You tend to live by reacting unconsciously to your environment.

Level 2 – You Know a Few Things about Yourself

You can recognize some of the things you think, feel and do but you have little or no control over when or how you do them.

Level 3 – You Begin Understanding Why You Do Stuff

You begin to examine and comprehend why you think, feel and behave the way you do and are able to consciously make small changes.

Level 4 – You Understand Yourself at a Deeper Level

You are able to think, feel and behave consciously rather than reactively and live a life based on being the real you.

The great thing about learning about yourself is that it helps you become stronger, healthier, and more connected to your true path in life. What will you do to keep increasing your self-awareness?

Cheers,

Guy

Increase Your Self-Esteem through Self-Awareness

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You can increase your self-esteem by developing your self-awareness. For example, you’ll be a more confident, courageous person when:

  • You know who you are deep inside.
  • You know what you want in life.
  • You follow your passions.
  • You live authentically.
  • Your thoughts, feelings and behaviors are positive.
  • You have healthy boundaries.
  • You value yourself because you know how amazing you are.
  • You steer clear of people who try to sabotage your progress.
  • You genuinely like yourself.

When you do these types of things you feel better about yourself. A lot of people encounter unnecessary difficulties and heartaches in life because they move away from who they really are deep inside. The more self-awareness you possess, the more you’ll enjoy life as the real you and the happier you’ll be. What will you do to keep increasing your self-esteem?

Cheers,

Guy

10 Ways to Achieve Self-Awareness

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Here are ten ways to achieve self-awareness:

  1. Resolve to move beyond living superficially and decide that you want to take a deeper look at yourself.
  2. Set aside regular time to think about who you are as a person.
  3. Identify your talents and celebrate the things you do well.
  4. Identify the areas you need to improve and work on improving them.
  5. Identify the hurts from your past that need healing and work on healing them.
  6. Decide what really brings you joy in life, your passions, and take action each day to live based on these ideals.
  7. Think and do things that bring you meaning.
  8. Think and do things that extend beyond you and help as many other people as possible.
  9. Think, feel and behave positively.
  10. Continue learning and growing in your mind and in the physical world.

Building self-awareness isn’t a short-term endeavor, it requires ongoing, deliberate and mindful action. You don’t have to do everything at once, just pick one area you would like to build on and begin your journey.

Cheers,
Guy

The Self-Awareness Guy