In order to live a truly authentic life, one needs to know who he really is. After all, how can you be true to yourself if you don’t know who you are?
This is exactly why understanding the meaning of self-awareness is the key to living a fulfilling and happier life.
Now, the meaning of self-awareness is more than just knowing the right ice cream flavor you like. Researchers Sylvia and O’Brien Describe the meaning of self-awareness as the ability to focus one’s attention on oneself and ultimately evaluate the steps and actions one takes.
Self-awareness is knowing what motivates you, what you are passionate about, and most importantly, why you do what you do. It allows you to determine what makes you feel secure in your relationships and your ability to relate to others and deal with your emotions.
In simple words, it addresses the things that lie deep within you. Because it is so deep and buried, it takes a lot of effort and time to master the true meaning of self-awareness.
But we are here to make it easy for you.
Here are the best ways to understand and develop self-awareness:
1. Name your feelings.
You may feel like you don’t have a lot of feelings to deal with every single day, but you do… Maybe you didn’t notice them or became drugged with them. So the first step towards learning and developing self-awareness is to name your feelings.
You don’t have to deal with them the moment they happen. For starters, simply labeling these feelings will bring you a sense of awareness about them once they occur. You can use the diary to keep track of your feelings each day.
Read more: 5 diary techniques to get you started on diary!
2. Leave your past.
The biggest obstacles to self-awareness are the thoughts and memories of the past that we hold onto. No matter how difficult it is, we must realize that the only thing that makes a powerful impact in our lives is the moment we live in now. That is why it is time to finally let go of the thoughts and emotions that prevent you from truly living the present moment.
A good trick is to name each idea as you can think of. Now, evaluate this thought and decide whether it is necessary for the present moment or not. If not, let it slide on the conveyor belt and out of your mind.
Read more: Effective ways to overcome regret
3. Acceptance of practice.
It is human nature to try to control every little thing that happens around us. However, the true meaning of self-awareness is the acceptance that some things are beyond human control. And no matter how hard you try, there will be things you can’t control.
Self-awareness means being aware of what is within your reach and what is beyond your reach. Accepting the things you cannot change will fill you with a better sense of purpose. This will help you reduce the efforts you waste trying to change the uncontrollable.
conclusion:
Deciphering the meaning of self-awareness and imbibing it in your life is a skill. It will take significant time and effort to build, just like anything else you’ve tried to learn before. We hope that these steps will help you reach the end goal one step at a time.
Another constructive way to build self-awareness is through the practice of mindfulness meditation. To learn more about what is Mindfulness, click over here.
To learn more about mental health and self-awareness, subscribe to Your mental health.
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